Login
ISCOVER
Jessica Darnbrough
Brokers have been targeted by unsolicited emails that encourage them to buy or sell trail books, and concern is mounting that the offer could have originated from a dubious source.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Yesterday, The Adviser received contact from brokers complaining that they had received unsolicited emails from ‘Rent Roll Buyers’ – an organisation that says it will not be beaten on price or service when it comes to buying and selling mortgage and planning books.
One broker said he believed the email came from Mark William Whittingham.
Mark Whittingham’s activities have been the subject of considerable scrutiny in recent years. In March 2011, AFG warned its members to exercise “extreme caution when dealing with Mark Whittingham and the company Home Loan Selection Services trading as Buy A Trail”.
Then in September 2012, the director of Consumer Affairs Victoria issued a warning about the conduct of Mr Whittingham and his former company Buy a Trail.
More recently Consumer Affairs Victoria alerted prospective customers about the conduct of Mr Whittingham in March this year after he was found to have sent emails to estate agents, advertising rent rolls for sale through his company, Connection Blue.
The public warning followed a litany of complaints from brokers over the years who claimed to have paid Buy a Trail for trail books without ever receiving any assets.
The Adviser contacted Mr Whittingham to establish what involvement he had in the latest email promotion, but he denied that he had any involvement in sending the emails.
According to Mr Whittingham, he had “nothing to do with the emails and someone was playing a prank on him”.
However, further investigation conducted by The Adviser found that Mr Whittingham is named as the ‘registrar’ for the IP address.
