Purplebricks has within the past few minutes provided an update on its lettings management business, and confirmed that it is delaying the release of its half-year figures which were scheduled to be issued to shareholders tomorrow.
The move follows a report in the Telegrapgh yesterday that Purplebricks could face a bill of as much as £30m after it allegedly put thousands of landlords at risk of being fined after failing to follow basic tenancy law.
EYE revealed last month that the online estate agent had failed to properly serve legally required documents to tenants explaining their deposits have been put into a national protection scheme.
During an internal review the company says that it “recently became aware of a process issue in how it has been communicating with tenants on behalf of its landlords in relation to deposit registrations.
“Further enquiries into this matter are currently being conducted and the communications process is now being corrected.
Consequently. the company states this morning that it “is prudent to provide for any potential future claims which could arise under the Housing Act in relation to this regulatory process issue”.
The statement from Purplebricks adds: “Early provisional estimates by the Company suggest a potential financial risk in the range of £2m-9m. Purplebricks is now in the process of finalising the level of provision required and associated disclosures and has therefore taken the decision to delay its results for the half year ended 31 October 2021 which were due to be published on 14 December 2021.
“We will make a further announcement on the date of our half year results as soon as practical.”
Purplebricks could allegedly face a bill of up to £30m over tenancy deposits
Comments (8)
**BREAKING NEWS** (or at least it should have been…)
twitter.com/naea_uk/status/1470474683355181060
As follows:
“In response to media reports of @PurplebricksUK delaying half year results, @PropertymarkUK take any allegations against our members seriously and we will be investigating the claims of failure to properly register tenancy deposits.”
The thread continues:
“Legal procedures exist to protect both agents and their clients. Performing them properly not only protects agencies but is paramount for consumer confidence, providing transparency between businesses and their customers.”
Then
“Agents fight against a stigma and ensuring processes are in keeping with legal and professional standards, is a key part in changing the sector’s reputation.”
Only one thing to say…
WELCOME TO THE PARTY, @PropertymarkUK. You’ve been a big miss – for the last seven years…
“Smokescreen” definition – a ruse to disguise someone’s real intentions or activities. If I was running a listed business where I was about to find out if I was going to have to pay millions to former workers on the same day as I have to financially report to the shareholders I would also think of some ‘admin.’ reason, like mis-handled tenancy deposits, as to why there’s going to be an atomic hole in the bank balance shortly without actually admitting any liability. Genius.
Boys trying to do a man’s job. Such a shame the creators of this house of straw escaped before reality kicked in. No doubt their latest attempt to reinvent the wheel will also go ‘Boom’!
And they still haven’t updated their more than 12 months behind current legislation page. Hard to believe this has happened to them. The simple words in this article so damning – “failing to follow basic tenancy law”.
Its not hard to believe if you’ve experienced what I have with Purplebricks. Its shockingly badly run on the property management side. They were still issuing non compliant paperwork in October 2019 that breached the TFA, out of date how to rent guides, and failing to issue correct pre-tenancy documentation. Complaints go ignored and unanswered and its impossible to reach anyone on the phone. I actually don’t know how its still in business.
Stock Market doesn’t like the delay. – share price down 17% to 26p
Now down 20%.
Wait until the market is told about the employment status class action.
The problem with centralised systems. If there is a mess-up in processes to one client, then it will affect all clients.