PROSECUTORS have dropped a string of charges against a Bournemouth estate agent.

As reported in the Daily Echo, Matthew Ilsley, the director of business Illsley and Son Ltd, trading as Meridian Estate Agents, had been charged with eleven offences under the Unfair Trading Regulations.

All allegations against the 34-year-old were withdrawn during a hearing at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, April 4.

However, Bournemouth council’s Trading Standards team, which is prosecuting the case, has not withdrawn the charges against the company itself and a trial is planned.

The business at 297 Charminster Road is charged with five counts of trader engaging in a commercial practice which is a misleading action containing false information, three of trader engaging in a commercial practice which is a misleading omission and two of trader engaging in a commercial practice which was aggressive.

The latter two counts alleged that threats were made to withhold a buyer’s access from a property until a purchasing fee was paid.

Mr Illsley, of Seaward Road in Southbourne, had been charged with six counts of trader engage in commercial practice which is a misleading action containing false information, three of trader engage in a commercial practice which is a misleading omission and two of trader engage in a commercial practice which was aggressive.

Prosecutors initially alleged that he permitted a Meridian employee who had a prior interest in an address in Nortoft Road, Charminster to value the property themselves and make a false statement regarding the payment of a commission fee.

All allegations have been dropped.

The eleven charges relating to the business concern addresses in Ashley Road, Stanley Green Road, Bryant Road, Popes Road and Fortescue Road in Poole, and Myrtle Road and Nortoft Road in Bournemouth.

Some counts allege that buyers of properties were told they had to pay the commission fee because the vendor didn’t want to pay it, when in fact Meridian had offered a zero per cent commission deal to the vendor.

Others relate to allegations that the company threatened to prohibit buyers’ access to their homes by harassment, coercion or undue influence in a manner that caused them to take a transactional decision they would not have otherwise taken.

A trial is due to take place at the magistrates’ court on June 10.

Meridian remains open. It has a second branch in Ashley Road, Parkstone.

The company boasts a range of five-star reviews from customers on its website, all of which were given through consumer review site Trustpilot.

Sales blurb given online reads: “At Meridian we care for your investment like it is our own.

“Being a family-run independent agency with a modern approach but traditional values, we recognise the pressure and stress that can be involved in either sales or rentals.

“Our aim is simple: to provide an honest and affordable service, strongly believing that communication and service are paramount.”