A public vote run by the BBC has deemed estate agents fifth in a list of the ten customer services which most irritate the British public.

The results of the BBC’s ‘Brassed Off Britain’ series were announced last night, with junk mail top of the list ahead of banks, call centres, mobile phone companies, and estate agents. Other industries in the poll included the railways, deliveries, car salesman, home improvement companies, holidays and car salesmen.

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents appeared on the programme to defend the agents. He comments, “We were pleased not to be in the top three but the fact that we were in the list at all shows the poor image of estate agency in some people’s minds.

“There is no denying that there are rogue agents out there whose activities sadly tarnish the reputation of the many professional agents making up the majority of the industry. However all members of the NAEA must act in compliance with a strict Code of Practice and Rules of Conduct and we have a formal complaints system for anyone who does not. We would like to be able to take this further and have been long campaigning for the government to introduce increased regulation.

“Until such a system is in place, members of the public can protect themselves by exerting caution when choosing an agent and ensuring that they are using a member of a professional body.”

For more information or to find an estate agent who is a member of the NAEA, please visit www.naea.co.uk or email info@naea.co.uk.