Press Release
March 13, 2009
PropNex, Tenet promote professionalism with payment
With reference to the article “She takes $10,000 in deposits but keeps flat” (AsiaOne, 11 March 2009 and The New Paper, 9 March 2009), PropNex would like to state for the record that the $2,000 compensation was duly paid to the intended buyer of the flat this afternoon in the PropNex office.
“I would like to remind all parties concerned,” says Adam Tan, Corporate Communications & Marketing Manager of PropNex, “that the compensation was made out of good will on the parts of our agents and our professional indemnity insurance provider, Tenet Insurance.
“Our agents concerned bore $1,000 of the compensation,” he continues, “despite being out of pocket $2,000 themselves, because they wanted to show that they have been professional and consumer-centric, even to the point of caring for a customer that was not even theirs. We applaud their efforts in going the extra mile, be it in facilitating a smooth transaction for customers or in helping those who have been hurt by others.”
Tenet Insurance, which did not have to make any payout as there was no professional negligence on the part of the agents, was also lauded for their extended customer service.
“Tenet Insurance wants to demonstrate to all agents and the public,” Mr Tan explains, “the importance of being covered by professional indemnity insurance. PropNex has recently succeeded in having all its agents covered by professional indemnity insurance, and this timely incident has allowed Tenet Insurance to demonstrate how professional indemnity coverage can be a truly value-added service.”
He cautions, however, that this being a goodwill case, it should not be taken as a precedent for similar cases in the future. All future claims will have to depend on the professional indemnity contract undertaken by agents.
Mr Tan concludes: “We are just glad that we could help the buyers in our case, even though they are not our customers. And we urge all other property agents to exercise caution and due diligence when conducting transactions, so as to protect themselves and others.”
