Disappointed by Lazy Central Development Agent

Utterly appalled by the service provided.

Agents are reusing adverts from up to 1-2 years ago. This means that when I call to query about the units up for rent there are significant price changes. When I confronted the agent about this, he informed me that the sites he posts his adverts on, Gumtree and Private Property specifically, do not allow him to edit or delete the previous posts.

I went out and viewed houses last weekend. The prices are currently at R6700, but there are multiple adverts for cheaper units (from as little as R5900 for the exact same unit, and the ad has a section that states "this ad was posted 26 minutes ago"). They even state the Estate name which is Thatch Hill Estate 2 & 3 and the pictures are of the same units I viewed.

I emailed the links for the cheaper units to the agent and he told me that I would be able to come and view them. Not once, over multiple emails, did he state that the price has changed over the past 2 years or that the advert was old, after I linked him the specific place and discussed that I was interested in viewing the cheaper places. I had to request that he confirm the flat and price before he told me of the price changes, and that was after he confirmed I could view the places knowing full well I was traveling all the way from Edenvale to Centurion.

I am excessively disappointed and I believe this would fall under false advertising as the agent had no intention of informing me of the price changes. He was completely prepared to let me drive out and view the exact same units I had already viewed the weekend before, even though I specifically stated I wanted to view the place for the cheaper amount as it better fit my budget.

I found the email conversations to be unprofessional. Multiple spelling and grammar issues throughout and an insincere apology in the form of an excuse which doesn't exactly make sense. I have contacted the company and made a complaint there as well as I feel it is not right for them to continue having adverts up advertising the units at incorrect prices. I am not sure, as I am waiting for responses from Gumtree and Private Property, but I do not think that their system wouldn't allow someone to delete or edit the adverts. I feel that the agent is being lazy with the adverts and also has the benefit of attracting people with the low prices. I don't think this is a fair way to conduct business. It should be a priority for them to remove the old adverti*****ts.