Estate agency could be forced to fork out £11,000 after publishing THIS picture
THIS picture of a house for sale could cost the estate agency that published it £11,000.
The water tower is not visible in the picture
Appearing on estate agency Ray White’s website, it shows a three-bedroom house in south Sydney.
But other pictures of the same house reveal a huge water tower protruding out from behind the building.
The water tower is clearly visible in the background
The sly agency claims no digital enhancement was involved in the photograph.
But if they are found to be guilty of inappropriately misrepresenting the property in advertising material, then firm could face a hefty fin of up to $22,000.
The picture without the water tower has now been removed from online advertising
A spokesperson for the crafty company said: “The photos in question were not taken by a Ray White contracted photographer, but were instead supplied by the owner from a previous marketing campaign with another agent.
“Despite this, it would appear from our own investigations that the photos have not been photoshopped and are instead simply taken from an angle from which the house obscures the water tank.”
Neville Sanders, president of the real estate institute of Australia, questioned whether it would need to have been manipulated to count as a breach of the law.
A fine could be incurred even it the image wasn't digitally edited
He said: “Not only is it illegal in New South Wales, it’s my understanding that this would be against the law throughout the country.
“This kind of behaviour falls under the broad umbrella that is the Australian Consumer Law. That states that a product cannot be inappropriately misrepresented in advertising material.
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“Whilst it may appear that a wide angle lens has been used as well as a particular angle, does it truthfully show what the general public would see if they turned up out the front?
“The public’s expectation of what’s in a photo should meet their expectations when they see the property.
“The moment that a photograph changes something that is a permanent fixture on the property then that crosses the line.”
The shot that didn’t include the water tower has now been removed from all online advertising.