Purplebricks would have done better to respond in a positive way to criticisms raised by reviews on allAgents rather than sending legal letters, the reviews site has claimed.
A new notice has just gone up on on the allAgents site, describing Purplebricks as ‘miffed’.
allAgents has now removed its earlier notice about its decision to suspend the Purplebricks accounts, although it says this was “entirely factually correct”.
The new notice says: “So, due to the further threat of litigation, we decided to remove it, despite it being entirely factually correct. We’re a small company, and we just don’t have the money for a prolonged court battle against a PLC with a market cap of £1bn. We hope you’ll understand.
“In our humble opinion the thousands they’re paying their lawyers to write to us might have been better spent responding in a positive way to the criticisms raised by our reviewers.”
The full new notice, just placed on allAgents, is here: https://www.allagents.co.uk/purplebricks/
Comments (16)
Just pulled this off PB’s USA trustpilot page:
Founded in 2014 by two highly experienced industry professionals, Purplebricks has seen phenomenal growth and success in positively and permanently changing the real estate industry in the UK and Australia. We have become the No1 real estate agent in the UK in only three years and are growing rapidly in Australia since launching there in 2016.
When did PB become the No1 real estate agent in the UK?
It’s on Trustpilot so it must be true
It’s just as much an issue for Trustpilot as it is for Purplebricks. What did they let PB to do on launch in the US? They allowed purplebricks.com (the US site) to be populated with Trustpilot ratings and reviews from another market on another continent. Look at purplebricks.com and you will see it covered in Trustpilot ratings, reviews and references – with a very low-profile mention that its 25,000 reviews are from the UK. I’m sure Californians will be mightily impressed by that. I’m also sure Californian realtors won’t be slow to point it out.
On top of that they are still quoting 61 reviews and ‘Excellent’ – which is showing alongside their listing in a Google search for ‘Purplebricks US reviews’ – although all the reviews have been flagged on the actual site.
And this from a business that purports to deliver a crucial and reliable guide for consumers.
Well done indeed. About time someone got their teeth into this lot. Something odd happening on the US site, lots of listings across US, but suspect this is either Realtors using the site or strange happenings going on???? Share price slip slip slipping…..
Well done Allagents, it would be nice for them to be selective with their reviews, however, that is not what review sites are for, is it ?
It would be like a child marking his/her own homework.
Well done AllAgents. More and more people are standing up to the corporate bullying and serially misleading* or unsubstantiated statements and claims made by the company.
*many ASA rulings, unsubstantiated claims of between 80 and 91.6% of all listings sold by PB PLC, Mr K Bruce stating ALL reviews are verified, claiming all LPEs’ were qualified etc. etc. etc.
Well done Allagents, the claims (our purple friends) they make and the subsequent story about the “mistake” in America just goes to show the level contempt they show for the rules we should all play by.
With the Watchdog programme and this subsequent press coverage, hopefully buyers will do a little research before believing what they read in corporate propaganda.
Despite loathing PB I have to say that AA are the last people that should be spouting complaints about others dubious business practices!
WGC spot on !
Why on earth would Purplebricks get the lawyers involved again! This is a PR disaster for them!
not really, trade press doesn’t count !
Take a look at the Times and Reuters 😉
AllAgents are basically blackmailing Agents into endorsing their site when they say you should respond to negative reviews. Earning money from their advertising in the meantime.
https://www.allagents.co.uk/about-reviews/
“In order to allow a balanced review process, allAgents actively encourage agents to comment on every review. If they feel they may have been unfairly represented or they wish to offer an alternative view, they can. This also helps prospective customers evaluate both sides of the story and more importantly, view first-hand how the agent deals with complaints as well as praise, during the decision process.”
“All reviewers must follow the review code and be fair and honest in what they write.”
I’m sure that stops people from making things up about their competitors 🙂
Unless they actively verify reviews that an Agent flags as suspicious then they have a business model which leaves them open to a lawsuit.
If they can verify that the reviews in question are indeed valid then they don’t have to endure a full blown court case they can apply for a summary judgement.
bravo! Someone has to stand up to these ‘corporate bullies’
Good on Allagents. I hope this whole issue has at least given Allagents some free marketing.
Welll done Allagents