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Victoria’s latest Consumer Affairs action is serving as a warning not to neglect trust account audits.
Melbourne agency, James Ferris Property, as well as the business’s officer in effective control, James Ferris, are facing disciplinary action from Victoria’s consumer watchdog for allegedly failing to audit the agency trust account.
Now located in Williams Landing in the city’s west after a move from the nearby Werribee, the agency was first registered as a business in 2016. The agency’s website states that Ferris has been working in real estate in the area since the late 1990s.
Consumer Affairs claims that the trust account audit failures began in 2018 and ran through 2023.
Further to these allegations, the regulator is also asserting that Ferris and his agency circumvented the Estate Agents Act in several other ways, such as by failing to act fairly and honestly, and by engaging in conduct that was unprofessional or detrimental to the reputation or interests of the real estate industry.
The body is reminding agents and business owners that failing to audit trust accounts is a serious breach of the law and prevents regulatory bodies from determining if an agency is handling trust funds responsibly.
Ferris now faces the possibility of having his licence revoked or suspended for a period of time.
The matter is scheduled for an administrative mention on 7 June.
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