Online agent Russell Quirk submitted a complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority about Agents’ Mutual well over a year ago.
Quirk says he is certain it led to yesterday’s warning letter from the CMA.
In Quirk’s complaint, which EYE has seen and which was made before OnTheMarket launched, he made two allegations.
First, he said that online estate agents would be excluded from it. He alleged that this was unlawful and anti-competitive.
He also alleged a cartel, specifically saying that the ten directors of Agents’ Mutual “are acting as a cartel”.
He said: “Their published ethos is they insist that their customers ‘de-list’ with one of their two larges competitor portal websites. This is anti-competitive and affords the house selling public less representation by those member agents
“Moreover, in collaborating as the senior members of various UK estate agencies in applying the above two policies, they are acting in a restrictive manner in order to manipulate and limit competition in their own favour.”
Yesterday’s open letter from the CMA does not address Quirk’s specific complaints. It does not call into question OTM itself, nor its directors, and is silent on OTM’s ban on online agents. Instead, it addresses the behaviour of agents themselves and whether they have colluded.
Quirk’s complaint was not acknowledged for some months and only then after he chased up. In a letter, also seen by EYE, the CMA did acknowledge in January 2015 that Quirk had made contact with it in October 2014. Its letter explained that the CMA does not respond in detail to individual complaints, but goes on to say: “However, we have noted your complaint and brought it to the attention of our pipeline/intelligence teams.”
Quirk, CEO of eMoov, said yesterday: “Their policy is not to respond to the complaint as such. They simply investigate or not. In my case they did.”
Yesterday, Quirk put up a blog online saying that OTM boss Ian Springett must step down as CEO, and that the NAEA come off the Agents’ Mutual board.
He described OTM as being a “monumental failure”.
Comments (36)
#someoneelsesmoney
At least my business is turning a profit
Amazing how someone in the red can remain so smug.. oh wait, it’s not his money.
Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, George Osborne… it’s been trending for quite a while now
Keep on line only agents off the portals. they are feeding off the backs of established high street agents years of hard work. We laid the ground work but not for them to walk across !
And get OTM to stop the 2 portal rule.
I’M TELLING THEM THIS FOR THEIR OWN GOOD, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.
You’ll see I’m right !
‘Never forget where you came from’
This quote is something I feel Russell and a few others could take note of. Ever since I started my agency I’ve never forgotten why I did it in the first place. I’ve also never forgotten what has gotten me to this point now (still a long way to go!).
I’m not saying that change is bad, online/hybrid agents etc. However, some of the owners of these new internet based companies used to be traditional agents and would sell themselves to their potential clients on the basis that they are tangible, always at the end of the phone, someone to trust and guide them through a sale to successful completion.
It’s quite evident that Russell has forgotten this and is now turning against his own industry with PR as the vehicle to ruffle feathers.
Let’s give the man a break, let him have his moment. In my experience (17 years, which isn’t as much as some!) people like Russell enjoy the backlash on industry forums like this. Strange boy.
Anyway, he has enough on his plate with Purple Bricks taking the majority of his market share 🙂
I’m Spartacus
Clever thought out argument! Agree with all of your points, except the first.
who is russell quirk?
As someone who is working on the very edge of the industry for the last 14 months, even I know this is Trevor Mealham’s crusade. He is synonymous with the word cartel, CMA and everything surrounding the subject.
Who is this Quirk bloke? Never heard of him!
@ Coding Dobby
🙂 I came into agency 30 years ago and loved the industry from valuation to collaborating with other agents to gain best exposure to more buyers and tenants for home sellers and landlords.
Collaboration brought access to more (other agents stock) and gave us more stock to better facilitate those looking.
I hate ‘cartel’ like instances where a few restrain market exposure which is not in the client or consumer or agents best interest.
To me portals bring agents to a singular place to compete. AM/OTM missed a great opportunity to bring agents together to collaborate in everyone’s best interest, and instead tried to create a single market place where agents who complied and supported cartel like restraints on others was for own commercial gain.
I’d like to see tech support much of the good from decades ago that portals have removed from our industry.
I have just read your comment 4 times and am confused what you are saying to me.
It must be about time to get some more crowd funding?? The last lot is about to run out….
I’m guessing this is for SEO?
I spoke to the CMA yesterday and they confirmed what many of us on here suspected; that OTM and its member agents have done nothing wrong but, that the press release was just a general warning about anti-competitive practices in agency. A general interest story dressed up by Russell’s pet journalist at The Telegraph to suit an agenda
Not like Mr Q to try and take the glory in the name of a quick PR fix!
Every month he peddles reports to the press based on data from the 96% of the Estate Agency market that he seeks to undermine – talk about having your cake and eat it!
If there’s a bandwagon to jump on then Mr Q knows how to find it!
Small correction M. The market share he is seeking to undermine is >97%. For all the invested millions poured into the disruptuors in the past 4 years they have added less than 1% to their penetration into the industry to earn a disproportionately minute £16.9 million share of a £24 billion commission pot. Although listings share is just short of 3% the revenue share is 0.7%.
One really does have to question the sanity of anyone investing in or lending to that as a business model.
Any day now Robert the stark reality of those millions producing SFA will come home to roost. I feel sorry for the investors who are about to catch not just a cold but a very bad dose of the FLU Failed Like U -couldn’t believe.
You shouldn’t feel sorry for anyone with enough money to waste if they haven’t got the wit to understand that what is put on the internet or in the papers is sometimes only a distant cousin of the truth.
50 dislikes? I’m guessing that somewhere there is an over-staffed call-centre who have a lot of spare time on their hands at present
Rather than attacking Russell, why not look at the facts;
– The CMA has issued a threat of jail or fine for anti-competitive collusion
– OnTheMarket agents have embarked on a civil (litigation) war against each other.
I appreciate those who are looked into a 5 year straight jacket contracts will have a vested interest in knocking down his points, but the future of OTM looks very bleak at the moment.
If only they’d not embarked on the one other portal rule.
The stubbornness of Ian Springett in failing to address this point is akin to Arthur Scargill’s refusal to hold a ballet over the miners strike. It is the achilles heel which could destroy the portal and from here it looks like death by 6,000 cuts.
Totally agree. Great point
You can’t call it an attack on quirk , although mockery and taking the p155 is a form of attack in this case it a justified reaction to quick’s attempt to steal adulation for all the work Trevor Mealham has put into this consistently and constantly for nearly two years.
Trevor’s business has been adversely affected by OTM’s OOPR, that is why Trevor has taken the stance he has, he should be applauded for his consistency and fortitude in fighting his fight even if you disagree with his opinion
Well said Glen. Laws the law.
So Mr Ackroyd, you describe a 5 year deal as a ‘straightjacket contract’. How long do you sign your sheep for, and can they leave without consequence whenever they like? Thought not.
You’ve asked me a question but answered it yourself 🙂 Incorrectly I might add.
But I can understand why, because every franchise contract that I’ve seen locks franchisees in for 5 years as you’ve pointed out.
But not ours. They can leave upon giving us 6 months notice at any time – giving them time to work through any pending sales.
Without his marketing guru, is this Russell’s attempt to stay relevant?
I’ve been in the business a long while now. I’ve obviously missed Russell quirk or Emoovs Are they another portal like OTM. I thought they might have been an agency down in the south coast?
if they are trying to be a portal like the next HOUSER then they have a long way to go and letters to CMA wont help his industry
Does anyone really care what Russell Quirk says?
Over a year ago and your trying to claim the ‘glory’…
I think Mr Quirk has been smoking something other tgan tobacco.
The fact they didn’t respond to your actual complaint also…
Oi quirk No!, I will not have you stealing Trevor’s glory.
Yes Robert, I remember Russell saying he couldn’t be bothered with the OTM fight anymore midway last year 🙂 But I know a lot of people who were concerned who started prior to a year ago and didnt stop.
But in fairness, the governments want for new internet agency models and AM/OTM’s collusion and agent gatherings with a message to drop some portals and refuse entry to OTM just because agents didnt have a Hg St presence. ……. You can’t blame Russell for defending his little part of England.
Like it or not, there’s one market place, and those in it have to accept others can lawfully trade thir models there too.
Equally, we have to run under whats lawfully allowed by the Powers that Be, and not run under a few commercial laws that a few companies place on their subscribers that powers like the CMA eventually wade in to.
Compliments to the CMA for protecting fair play.
There are enough not AM OTM agents to build a rival to OTM and it could have 70% of the industry on board, lets call it RITZ after the folk who really don’t like OTM and Ian.
All the corporates, all the online agents, all the franchise models and affinity groups not allowed on OTM could build a new portal with more stock and less rules than OTM, There is plenty of cash slopping about, there is certainly enough technical knowledge and a distribution and marketing channel to pull it off so why rather than worrying too much about OTM doesn’t someone propose and then build a forth major portal to give OTM a proper whooping and show them how it should have been done in the first place.
‘OTM boss Ian Springett must step down as CEO, and that the NAEA come off the Agents’ Mutual board.’
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. Oh, you crack me up Russell. Really you do.