A sales agent working for one of the UK’s largest housebuilding companies has been suspended after pointing the finger at a homebuyer.
Photos seen by MailOnline show an employee at Persimmon Homes in Derby using the gesture during a fight.
The gesture was made to a prospective homebuyer looking to buy a property on the scandal-hit Buttercup Leys estate, where properties sell for up to £400,000.
The estate has been hit by a series of controversies, including Persimmon’s construction of a “monstrous” fence without planning permission and claims that buyers had to face discomfort, stress, depression and intimidation during the purchasing process. household.
The buyer from Derby told MailOnline he attended the new development’s sales office earlier this month to view a house with his two brothers and parents.
The buyer was hoping to view a newly built property on the Buttercup Leys estate with his family, but was insulted by an estate agent (pictured).
The man says the experience left his family “traumatized.” (In the photo: the sales agent raising his finger)
The Buttercup Leys estate which has been built in recent years by builder Persimmon in Derby
He said: ‘We had a viewing booked for 4.30pm. Apparently they sent an email at 4.26pm saying the appointment had been cancelled.
“We weren’t aware of it and we realized after we got home and checked our emails.”
However, after entering the sales office, the man claimed that the mockery began from the sales agent.
The man said: ‘After arriving, I walked into the sales office and said we had a reservation.
“The guy looked surprised, then saw my brothers and parents approaching the entrance and asked, ‘All these people for a 3-bedroom house?’
‘I replied: ‘Sure friend, everyone is going to live and pay, there are three rooms in the house, you shouldn’t be judging or making comments like this.’ I felt insulted.
“Then he said I have a bad attitude and he doesn’t want to show me the house anymore.”
He stated that he then left the office but that the sales agent followed him. “He started making judgments like, ‘You can’t afford the house!’ Look at the car you’re driving! What’s this? Look at my gold tooth!’ the man said.
The 8-foot barrier is part of a site of 1,058 homes next to the A6
“He was also using profanity so I told him to fuck off and that he had no customer service skills.”
The man also claimed: “He kept instigating, saying, ‘You don’t know who I am!’ See this gold tooth? Meet me outside of work and I’ll show it to you.
“A lot of garbage came out of his mouth. It completely ruined the experience, we were all very upset. It’s not nice to be threatened like that.
However, people who witnessed the altercation said that both the buyer and the sales agent engaged in rude exchanges.
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes told MailOnline: ‘This sales consultant has been suspended pending a full investigation.
‘Witness accounts suggest that there was an unfortunate incident between both parties and our sales consultant reacted in an unacceptable manner.
‘Customer service is of utmost importance to Persimmon and we are very sorry for this inappropriate behavior whatever the circumstances. All customers and staff must be treated with respect at all times.
Elsewhere, Persimmon is fighting to maintain an 8ft-high fence that locals are calling an “eyesore” between the development and the A6.
It forms part of the 1,058-home site on Chellaston Road. However, it was built without permission and has since been vandalized.
Persimmon’s new proposal for the fence that includes landscaping measures
Councilor Dan Corbin, leader of the Conservative Group on South Derbyshire District Council, said at the time: “What you actually have is, frankly, a disgrace – a fence covered in graffiti.
“It has been destroyed by label artists and has become a complete eyesore.”
Last September South Derbyshire District Council rejected a retrospective planning application.
The barrier, which aims to block noise and views of the A6, was part of an initial application submitted in 2006.
But another application needed to be approved before it could be built. However, this did not happen, council officials said.
The North Midlands division of Persimmon has submitted a new planning application.
It comes after residents of the estate expressed their dismay after having to face discomfort, stress, depression and intimidation during the process of buying homes at the development.
Lee Else, a 38-year-old JCB supplier quality engineer, lives on the farm with his partner Katie and their three-year-old son Logan.
Speaking previously, he said: “We know it can be stressful at the best of times, but when it comes to first-time buyers or someone who actually owns a new-build property, it should be a dream, a fantasy, a happy time. .
‘Persimmon took advantage of first-time buyers and younger families. They threaten to take people’s full deposit (£500) and take away their houses if they don’t sign the contracts.
‘You can imagine the nightmare this created. People lost between £15,000 and £20,000 to make a quick sale (of their current home) or lose everything.
Among the furious residents was Lee Else (pictured), 38, who said Persimmon took advantage of first-time buyers and younger families and threatened to take people’s entire deposits.
‘This has created unrest, stress, depression and arguments between families as tensions have risen. People’s dream houses became houses of hell.’
Kim Durkin, who bought plots on the estate in 2015 and 2017, said: “We were told that all the houses on the estate are and will be let and this is how all the new build properties are now sold.” I feel like we were cheated and half-sold.’
And Vikki Williamson, a 49-year-old NHS clinical scientist, lives on the estate with her husband Mark and daughter Amy-Lea and was one of the first to move into the estate in April 2015.
She said: ‘We knew it was a leasehold and almost walked away because of it, but the seller assured us it would only cost £2,000 to buy after two years and that ‘all the new houses are now leasehold.’
‘Persimmon tells the same stories to buyers all over the country, with the same figures, so it is obviously a company policy, which they deny, just to get sales.
‘Once people move in, aftercare is non-existent. This isn’t the first new build home I’ve bought and I haven’t had any of these issues before, so we’re not naïve homeowners.’
Speaking at the time concerns were raised, Persimmon said: “We are in regular contact with residents of the Buttercup Leys development.
“Any residents who have questions about their own property can contact us directly.”