Estate agents are “manipulating property sales” with clauses that block bids from being passed on to sellers, Trading Standards has warned. The consumer body said buyers could end up hundreds out of pocket while sellers could lose thousands of pounds due to offers not being passed on because of the small print in a contract they have signed. Many estate agents earn a commission – sometimes as much as 60pc – by referring buyers to partner firms which provide mortgage brokering, conveyancing and surveying services. They may even earn extra revenue by providing these services themselves through separate business arms. Conditional selling – where an estate agent does not pass on an offer to a seller unless the buyer opts for their in-house services – is an ‘undesirable practice’ according to the law. While not technically an ‘offence’, agents found to have done this could be lumbered with a ban on business by the regulator. But there are exceptions to the rules. One way agents can get around this is if they have it in writing that the seller only wants offers of a particular type. James Munro, of National Trading Standards, said: “Anecdotally, we’ve found agents can manipulate the...