Property manager Richard Davidoff has won a retraction and apology from two young ex-employees who posted fake customer reviews online, but fines from regulators are piling up.
The lawyers of the two ex-employees apologised in open court earlier this week to Mr Davidoff, his wife and daughters who work in the family’s businesses and ABC Block Management and ABC Hendon. They also retracted allegations of criminality. This brings to an end a controversy that friends say has cost the two £60,000 each in legal costs and settlement.
The ruling Conservative party was kicking back at brokers and freeholders over insurance kickbacks and commissions as early as 2006, Leasehold Knowledge Partnership can reveal, with RICS and FCA predecessor, the FSA, agreeing there was a problem.
Ex cabinet ministers Gregory Barker, then shadow environment minister, and Theresa Villiers, then shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, joined forces in Parliament to bombard government ministers and officials throughout 2006 with pointed questions motivated by concerns that ordinary homeowners were paying sizeable commissions – blended into their buildings insurance premiums by way of landlord-controlled service charges – under the controversial leasehold system.
