Two estate agents who formed part of a cartel that conspired to keep commission fees high in order to “make as much profit as possible” have been disqualified by the competition watchdog.
David Baker and Julian Frost ran Abbott and Frost estate agents in Burnham-on-Sea, one of five agencies that secretly agreed that their commission fees would be fixed at 1.5%.
This meant that customers could not negotiate lower moving costs. The agents were able to dominate the local area, with their market share said to be as high as 95%.
