Top real estate agent in the gun

Darryn Laskey. Photo / Supplied

An estate agent touted as among the country's best accused a critic of being socially impaired, told him to get a life and asked if he was on drugs.

Darryn Laskey, Ray White's No 1 North Shore salesman and No 4 in the country, was found by a state authority to have exhibited unsatisfactory conduct in his response to emails which he felt attacked him.

The Real Estate Agents Authority said he breached rules by behaving in a way which did not reflect well on a member of the real estate profession.

Mr Laskey advertised a Glenfield Rd property as "outstanding in every way, prestigious and commanding".

But a critic emailed him that the description was inaccurate and demonstrated limited understanding of the importance of aesthetics.

It showed how incapable agents were of describing properties, the unnamed critic wrote.

Mr Laskey replied with emails which a complaints assessment committee found "rude, offensive and inappropriate".

"The committee has taken particular notice of the fact that some of the comments amounted to personal abuse," the authority said in its ruling.

"The response was not warranted by the initial email or following comments, albeit the initial email was critical of agents and their use of language to describe properties."

In a phone conversation, Mr Laskey asked the critic if he was "on drugs or something".

Mr Laskey told the committee the emails sent to him were critical, insulting and abusive, and were an unprovoked attack.

"By implication he appears to be saying that his replies were warranted by the nature of the correspondence," the committee said.

Mr Laskey said he would not appeal.

"I thought about it but it would involve a complaints assessment committee, the Real Estate Agents Authority, a judge, a barrister and a junior and it was suggested I'd need legal representation too and I thought it was minor."

The case was "ludicrous" because it took 18 months to resolve "and there was no penalty", he said, accusing the new authority of slow decision-making and failing in its intentions to stamp out rogue agents.

"What have they found? An agent who told someone to piss off and another one who offered to sell a widow's house!"

Ray White's website says Mr Laskey is among its best agents and is consistently ranked in the top 1 per cent of estate agents in the country.

In a separate case, licensee Debra Dixon of Barfoot and Thompson's Parnell office was found guilty of unsatisfactory conduct over a property which had been listed under a sole agency with another firm.

At issue was the status of that sole agency agreement and whether she had satisfied herself about the status of it. A complaints assessment committee said her conduct fell short of the standard the public was entitled to expect.

WHAT DARRYN LASKEY SAID

Email, August 12
"Our apologies that we don't cater for the bored or socially impaired that may come across our adverts. Get a life or maybe a job but don't email me with rubbish like this."

Email, August 18
"My response is again GET A LIFE. Furthermore your email address has now been added to my junk mail list as your emails fall into that category perfectly."

Phone call, August 18
"What's your problem? Are you on drugs or something?"