Humor can be very expensive. A new trustee, placed in receivership and then taken over by a start-up, learned this to his cost. Bellman, who had promised to dust off the trustee profession, was convicted by the courts for having broadcast advertisements that “denigrate” in a way “characterized” the profession. In one, for example, we see a person dressed in leather from head to toe, vacuuming her home while her roof leaks. The co-owners are thus seen as sadomasochists.
«The campaign had the aim and effect of damaging the image and collective interests of this profession.ruled the Paris Commercial Court in a decision rendered on September 4, and that The Figaro has obtained.Humor is therefore a means of accentuating discredit, which could not have escaped the notice of a normally attentive co-owner.“, adds the court which ruled that “By this campaign, Bellman committed an act of unfair competition, in the form of clear denigration, and that this deserves compensation».
New slap for the new trustees
The court was heavy-handed: the fine amounts to 125,000 euros (the ANGC was demanding 500,000 euros). But it will not go into the pockets of the plaintiffs, the National Association of Condominium Managers (ANGC) and the National Real Estate Federation because, during the legal proceedings, Bellman was liquidated. But, for the ANGC, “the main thing is not there». «The main thing is to have defended the honor of the trustees and to show that the trustees knew how to defend themselves when they were attacked.“, reacts Gilles Frémont, president of the ANGC who hopes that this judgment “will boost the morale of all field managers who felt hurt by this campaign of denigrating advertising posters».
This is the second victory in this area for traditional trustees, after the one obtained in January 2022 against another of their “bête noire”, namely the Matera company. And this, for the same reason of denigration but also of illegal practice of the trustee profession and unfair competition. This platform for assistance to the cooperative trustee regularly mocked the lack of responsiveness of traditional trustees, their inability to answer the phone or to quickly resolve everyday problems.
Ironically, after having long mocked their “bête noire”, Matera decided six months ago to change its model and now offer comprehensive property management services like its rivals alongside its service platform intended for cooperative property management companies, those co-owners who manage their co-ownership themselves. The fault lies in an offer that is too narrow, as its founder Raphaël Di Meglio explained.We are frustrated that we cannot address clients who want to delegate everything.“This strategy is reminiscent of that adopted by new real estate agencies. After opting for a single package, these young shoots finally abandoned this model which put them in financial difficulty and chose the model of their elders – a percentage of the price – which they have nevertheless long castigated.
