When two female vendors checked their Rightmove listing, after signing up with Jackson-Stops & Staff, Bury St Edmunds...

They discovered that the word ‘lesbians’ was at the bottom of the Rightmove advertisement for their house, in the space normally reserved for a reference number. When the couple complained, they were apparently told in an email: “We fail to see how we have discriminated against you.”

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors disagreed, but didn't impose a fine. J-S&S had already paid the couple £5,000 in an out-of-court settlement, and given its staff a little "training" in how not to mock people for their sexual orientation (because, you know, that's really difficult, right?). We're just relieved J-S&S didn't try to argue that the whole things was an unfortunate coincidence, that lesbians just happened to be the random reference code.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents