{"id":4277,"date":"2019-04-15T07:35:44","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T11:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/?p=4277"},"modified":"2019-07-22T06:54:11","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T10:54:11","slug":"over-aggressive-agent-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/15\/over-aggressive-agent-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"Over-aggressive agent harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"over-aggressive<\/a>
When Over Aggressive Agents Abuse Technology (inforgraphic from nar.realtor)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Something has happened in the last few years where unsolicited phone calls and text messages have hit critical mass. It’s bad enough that unscrupulous individuals take advantage of technologies, such as phone number spoofing, to scam consumers. But it’s not a good sign for an industry when “professionals” abuse technology without regard to the law. You’re not alone if you’re feeling harassed by over-aggressive real estate agents who place multiple unsolicited calls and texts daily. There is a way to stop the over-aggressive agent calling and texting harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When over-aggressive real estate agents abuse technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like other industries, technology has been integral in evolving the business of real estate in the last twenty years.  As a result of proper application, consumers are empowered.  However, some technologies are abused by real estate agents.  The combination of aggressive sales tactics and technology can sometimes go over the line and become harassment.  Recent lawsuits highlight alleged abuse of technology by real estate agents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent class action lawsuit filed in California is taking on real estate agents who \u201ccold call.\u201d  Realtor Magazine (Cold Calling in Real Estate Under Fire in New Lawsuit<\/a><\/em>; magazine.realtor; April 8, 2019) reported that the suit originated from a request for the defendant brokerage to stop directing their agents to make unsolicited calls.  The suit alleges that calling without consent violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and unsolicited auto-dialer calls violate the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plaintiff alleges that he received unsolicited calls from multiple agents affiliated with the same brokerage to his cell phone, which is listed with the National Do Not Call Registry<\/a>.  The calls solicited to re-list his home after it did not sell.  Although it\u2019s sometimes easy to find a phone number (typically a land line) associated with a property, the plaintiff said his cell phone was not associated with the property listing in any way.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other lawsuits filed earlier this month in\nFlorida focus on unsolicited texting.  In\none, the plaintiff alleges they received thousands of unsolicited text messages,\nviolating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, advertising homes for sale.  The other alleges the use unsolicited texting\nto find potential home sellers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haru Coryne, for the Real Deal, reported that the suits are really about the abuse of auto-dialer technology that transmits \u201cthousands\u201d of text messages from a spoofed local number (Unsubscribe! Resi brokerages sued over text message spam<\/a><\/em>; therealdeal.com; April 4, 2019).  The founder of a popular real estate technology platform acknowledged to Coryne that real estate agents who use these technologies without knowing the law can get into trouble.  He further stated, \u201cA typical real estate agent will have five, six, seven programs, probably never took the time to see what the law is. [But] Just because they offer it doesn\u2019t mean you can abuse it.  It\u2019s like eating candy and wondering why you\u2019re getting fat. You can\u2019t take technology and abuse it and wonder why you\u2019re getting sued<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many platforms selling these services to real estate agents.  New technologies mine data (including emails and phone numbers) and \u201ccommunicate\u201d with consumers (including internet auto-dialers).  There are several popular services that sell contact information (including cell phone and email) for expired listings and Sale by Owner.  The data can be used in conjunction with text\/email broadcasting, phone number spoofing, and auto-dialers.  Many consumers feel harassed by the over-aggressive agent because they are bombarded with auto-dialers, texts, and emails, after<\/strong> opting-out or asking the agent to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stopping the over-aggressive agent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to stop unsolicited calls and texts from the over-aggressive agent, simply opt-out. If they continue, contact the agent. Contacting the agent should put an end to the unsolicited communication. However, you may have to call the agent’s broker. If, in the slight chance, you continue to be bombarded with unsolicited communication after opting out and contacting the agent’s broker, you may have to consult an attorney. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be a watershed moment for the industry to educate consumers about professional Realtors and reign in the \u201cbad actors.\u201d<\/a>  The National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor) and local Realtor associations advocate for the responsible use of technologies and cold calling.  With regard to telemarketing, the NAR states<\/a>, \u201cThere\u2019s no fine line or gray area: There are laws you must not break. But you still have a lot of flexibility on the right side of the law<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Dan Krell<\/a>
Copyright \u00a9 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original located at https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/15\/over-aggressive-agent-harassment\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you like this post, do not copy; instead please:
link to the article<\/a>
like it on facebook<\/a>
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\"Protected<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer<\/a>.\n This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon \nfor legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the \ninformation contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive\n or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney \nregarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and \njurisdiction. Using this article without permission is a violation of \ncopyright laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Something has happened in the last few years where unsolicited phone calls and text messages have hit critical mass. It’s bad enough that unscrupulous individuals take advantage of technologies, such as phone number spoofing, to scam consumers. But it’s not a good sign for an industry when “professionals” abuse technology without regard to the law. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Over-aggressive agent harassment”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[303,383,370,419,13,402,23,141],"tags":[785,913,597,926,803,786],"class_list":["post-4277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-code-of-ethics","category-consumer","category-ethics","category-home-owner","category-real-estate","category-real-estate-agent","category-realtor","category-realtor-ethics","tag-code-of-ethics","tag-consumer","tag-consumer-protection","tag-home-owner","tag-realtor","tag-realtor-ethics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1VZLf-16Z","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4277"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5350,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277\/revisions\/5350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}