Kids on Foxtons database

[AnotherPaul]

Dear Foxtons,

In early August this year my 11 year old daughter received a letter from you. The letter suggested that she should she ever wish to sell her property, Foxtons would be happy to help her do so.

I am deeply concerned that you have children on your database. It's also rather silly that your database contains people who obviously don't own properties. I'm not sure as to the legality of you having the names and residence details of minors stored for marketing purposes, maybe you could tell me what the law is on this.

Ultimately I want to know how and why my daughter ended up on your database and also to know that she, and all other children have been taken off your mailing lists.

I did ask this same question when I phoned your office over a month ago. A member of your staff assured me that the Lordship Lane office manager would be in touch to explain your actions. Disappointingly this call has not happened and so I am writing you this open letter.

Yours, Paul

[KidKruger]

weirdly addressed to Foxton's - are they definitely checking this board every day ?

[Peckhampam]

As they didn't get back to Paul it seems to me as good an idea as any.

[josephineB]

I work for a charity and only staff members with a DBS check are allowed to view stored information on under 18's such as names and addresses. I'm sure they will clamp down on this if it is a glitch!!

[Loz]

That law only applies to databases with specific content - not just any database containing information about U18s.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I sympathise with the OP; using a child's name is clearly wrong, even if it's by mistake, and you'd think they'd jump to fix the problem.

I don't understand why estate agents are so lax in their use of personal data. I know someone who regularly gets letters from local estate agents saying they are contacting her as a previous buyer/vendor, potential buyers interested in a house like yours, blah blah, but she lives in a street that's 100% owned by the Dulwich Estate, so not only has she never been on their database as a buyer or vendor, no one has ever bought or sold a property in the entire street.

[KidKruger]

Huh !

so if i have a bad experience with Iceland on Lordship Lane, I write them a letter and they don't respond, it's proper form to start a thread on EDF which begins 'Dear Iceland' ?!

Just go in there and have it out with them, make a fuss, bang the counter, rather than hiding behind your keyboard.

surely your post should begin "a slagging-off of Foxtons:".

[Robert Poste's Child]

According to the first message he asked direct a month ago and they didn't do anything. He hasn't 'slagged off' Foxtons other than stating the particular problem he's having. It doesn't seem that unreasonable.

[AnotherPaul]

I'm not hiding behind a keyboard, that seems to be your thing KidKruger, and I object to the needlessly argumentative tone of both of your messages. You seem to not know what and open letter is actually for.

To be perfectly clear, I phoned Foxtons, explained the issue and was promised a response which never arrived. So I thought I would use this forum to publicise Foxton's lack of a response. That is a smarter way of applying pressure to a company than simply banging the desk, that would be a one-off dispute, this is public.

See KK, I'm using the internet to embarrass Foxton's and in that, by trolling in a semi-amusing manner, you are helping me.

[vgrant]

Foxtons are pretty thick skinned about most things, this will probabaly not bother them a bit I'm afraid

[Townleygreen]

I've heard some of these companies respond fastest if they get a tweet from you. Have you tried that?

[KidKruger]

When you anonymously slag-off a business with the intention to 'embarrass' it, you're hiding behind a keyboard !

Given that you have admitted you're using EDF as tool for this, how will you gauge the success, or failure, of your efforts ?

I can understand your being defensive when the point of your effort is questioned, but it does look like you've written a letter to a company without a clue of whether they will ever read it. The 'open letter' claim seems facile, it is customary (as anyone who understands the construct should know) to entitle it 'Open Letter to...'.

This is why I queried the message banner, the title sails against custom and to be honest messed-up my entire week.

As Confucius said (in the Analects), "a gentleman always uses the correct terminology".

Just saying..

[joom]

wrong acc.

[AnotherPaul]

I came on here curious to see if anyone else had received such letters sent to children.

I also wanted to see if Foxton's watch this forum, or might respond.

What I did not expect was a pedant, determined to frustrate conversation and curiosity. You have failed to reply to the meaning of my quite serious issue, preferring to argue, to troll, and to hid behind a keyboard - taking pot-shots.

Well done KK. Brilliant.

I don't need Confucius (and that's really sad, who are you Kirsty Walk?) My mum once said if "if you've nothing nice to say then say nothing". I've always though that trite but in your case it's perfect.

[KalamityKel]

Is this a personal issue between you both?

I don't really understand why you're chosing to be unpleasant to KK for simply asking what the purpose/aim of this thread is/was.

You accuse KK of being a troll, taking pot shots and all that... what are you doing in return? :s

To return to the point in question - when you spoke to Foxtons, other than advise ED Foxtons would get in touch what else did they say? Surely there was more conversation? Have you now taken it upon yourself to visit the ED branch to follow this up yourself? Would be interesting to know whether making a direct visit would actually get a positive result or whether, like most companies, they'd just fob you off with some blame pushing (blaming head office or a marketing dept).

[Robert Poste's Child]

Foxtons has a long history of less than ethical behaviour so I can't imagine even a post on a local forum would bother them much.

[red devil]

I'm with both KK's on this. If it bothers you that much, sort it out in person at the ED branch...

[AnotherPaul]

The forum has administrators. If my comments were offensive or legally contentious the thread would have been removed. That was not the case. What has occurred is one person has decided to question my motives fairly aggressively, using their keyboard to publicly invalidate the thoughts of another. Now that is hiding behind a keyboard if ever I saw it.

And now we have three of them circling, agreeing with each other, repeating the same guff in public to make them appear to be more valid than me. Please no! I can't stand being told off by these incredibly wise people who are obvs my betters. You've found me out, I am rumbled, laid bare - and it is you keyboard warriors of the forum who have shown me the error of my ways. Thank you. I shall learn from this in so many ways.

More seriously, if you behaved like this in a school it would be called bullying.

[red devil]

Errr, what did you expect posting on a public forum? That everyone would agree with you? It's called having a difference of opinion, not bullying. Free speech is a bugger no mistakin'...

[KidKruger]

It may help you to re-read your own thread, personally I don't think I posted anything that could be taken as aggressive (unless you regard anything but blind agreement as aggressive) until you'd commented on my attitude and inferred my understanding is weak. Even then I was gentle with you, considering the way you left me feeling crushed and devalued.

I can't speak for the other members of my gang though.

As per the Lego movie, "Everything is awesome, Everything is cool when you work in a team".

hee hee - originally I typed "bling agreement" that did make me chortle and conjured-up thoughts of dudes obliging one another with affirmations on their laden precious metals. But thought I'd best correct the spelling for fear I'm accused of implying you only like heavyweight jewellery.

[AnotherPaul]

The first word used by you Kk was "weirdly". That's not gentle, it's "your comment is Weird".

Soon after I was "hiding behind a keyboard". What response did you expect?

Of course I don't expect people to agree with me. I did naively expect people to actually converse rather than dissect and slur.

Best I expect more someplace else.

[Seabag]

I'm mortified by this behaviour

More so that my Son HASN'T received a letter

I called Foxtons to ask why and was fobbed off with "Oh, it's the fault of the marketing dept at head office"

Imagine trying to explain to my child, why he's being left out, or picked on even

I hope youre reading this FOXTONS

*taps screen

[Louisa]

Another seemingly innocent open-post to a local business turns into a classic virtual slagging match between forumites. Does everything on the EDF always come back to this? Can't we talk about class? ;-)

Louisa.

[Otta]

I'm amazed at the reactions to the OP which I thought totally reasonable. I'm also grateful it's been brought to my attention.

[KalamityKel]

KalamityKel Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> To return to the point in question - when you

> spoke to Foxtons, other than advise ED Foxtons

> would get in touch what else did they say? Surely

> there was more conversation? Have you now taken

> it upon yourself to visit the ED branch to follow

> this up yourself? Would be interesting to know

> whether making a direct visit would actually get a

> positive result or whether, like most companies,

> they'd just fob you off with some blame pushing

> (blaming head office or a marketing dept).

Seriously, what happened?