The latest BBC Panorama investigation has brought the integrity of some estate agents into question, with an undercover investigation bringing conditional selling into the spotlight. While it’s not currently illegal, we strongly believe that legislation needs to be introduced to prevent this unscrupulous practice.

If you haven’t watched the Panorama episode, it featured an undercover journalist – Lucy Vallance – who worked at estate agent Connells for six weeks in February 2025. 

Connells is one of the biggest estate agencies in the UK, with Panorama deciding to investigate the company after speaking to mortgage advisers and independent financial advisers (IFAs) across England and Wales – some of whom had concerns about how the company operates.

The programme featured home seller Julie Gallagher who believed that her home was sold at a lower price because her agent sidelined another buyer in favour of someone who was taking out an in-house mortgage. This secured the agency an additional fee from their mortgage partner (worth around £2,000 according to reports).

Many estate agents work with mortgage providers or have preferred mortgage partners who they recommend, but Panorama found evidence that the senior branch manager in Abingdon chose to favour buyers who were taking out in-house services – for example mortgages or conveyancing – because they made additional money for the company.

Unscrupulous Practice

As experienced estate agents we were shocked to hear about this type of bias to put forward offers to sellers. It’s something that we, as a small, local, independent estate agent have never – and would never – do. 

It is the law that every offer must be communicated to the seller verbally and in writing as soon as reasonably possible after receiving it, to ensure that the seller clearly understands what is offered and the conditions of that offer. Our aim is to pass the offer on within 24 hours of receiving all of the details, but not all agents do that. 

If you’re buying a property, always make sure you receive written confirmation that your offer has been submitted, and if you’re selling a property ensure you get written confirmation of the details of all offers made.

No buyer or seller should ever be discriminated against in any way – it is completely unacceptable and unprofessional.

The Panorama programme also investigated online estate agency Purplebricks. They’d been told of concerns that Purplebricks had been trying to attract sellers to list with them by overvaluing properties. Once a property was secured it was then up to staff to persuade the seller to cut the asking price – with the staff member earning commission if successful. This was told to Panorama by a former sales negotiator. 

A Call for Change

Propertymark, the leading professional body for the property sector, said this week – “Across the UK, estate agents operate with integrity and professionalism. They understand the critical importance of upholding a full duty of care and maintaining impartiality throughout the sales and transactional journey. Consumers must have the freedom to choose the services and products that best align with their needs and preferences, free from pressure or bias.”

We firmly believe that conditional selling should be a banned practice. While we work with a number of preferred mortgage advisors, solicitors and EPC assessors, we are transparent in our dealings with them and working with them is never a condition of sale or for us submitting an offer. 

That is how we have always worked and how we always will work. All of our team are committed to providing the best possible service, focused on the individual needs of our buyers and sellers. We treat others how we would like to be treated and that is at the heart of everything we do – take a look at our five-star reviews to understand more about the service we deliver to every client.

If you’d like to speak to us about how we ensure no bias please give us a call and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

You can also listen to more about the issue on BBC Radio 4s You & Yours – 🎧 BBC You and Yours – Listen here