An email chain which started with an agent’s complaint to their software supplier was yesterday spammed many times to a large number of other agents. The software supplier has gone to lengths to repudiate the claims and the agent has now apologised.
By yesterday afternoon, puzzled and angry agents were complaining about the bombardment which inundated their inboxes. The agent concerned was last night said to have issued an apology to the Property Software Group.
Yesterday’s spam email chain included not only the initial complaint but other agents’ email addresses and responses – even including ‘out of office’ replies.
The Property Software Group, now part of Zoopla Property Group, was the intended recipient of the original complaint about Vebra Alto and Jupix software.
EYE believes the agent will apologise to all on the list once he has worked out how it had happened.
One agent who contacted EYE said they had received 20 of the spam emails by yesterday afternoon – adding “two more have just come in”.
Another agent told us they were concerned about data protection in light of the number of email addresses flying around.
The initial complaint was seemingly made early yesterday morning by a negotiator at Birchills Estate Agents in Leytonstone, east London, on behalf of managing director Peter Lawrence, to PSG.
The email raised several issues, including functionality for short-term lets, and ended: “This is my final attempt to get things properly amended, as I am sick of being fobbed off with poor excuses of why Zoopla & Property Software group do not want to rectify the above errors.
“I would really appreciate if all who use this software to put in your complaints.
“And I am sure you will agree we are paying through the nose for this software and we at least expect it to be up to date with Zoopla and Rightmove.”
The chain email soon filled up, with one agent’s response suggesting that it had been sent “several times to every PSG user in the UK (and many that aren’t)”.
Recipients that appeared to reply to and then forward the chain even seemed to include a mortgage firm.
A PSG spokesperson said the spam email chain seems to have gone to a random list of 200 agents.
She said that it was an error by Peter Lawrence.
She said that he would be “issuing an apology to everyone he has spammed once he has worked out how not to make it happen again”.
She also said that the agent’s complaints related to a specific short-let functionality. The spokesperson also said: “The complaint itself wasn’t rejected by ourselves, we certainly acknowledged Peter’s development suggestion.”
We have invited Peter Lawrence to respond.