An independent agent was last night given an apology by Your Move after leaflets were delivered to sellers claiming that her firm had quit Rightmove.
Sarah Mains, of Sarah Mains Residential in Newcastle upon Tyne, said that her business has been “severely disrupted” this week after the leaflets were apparently hand-delivered to sellers’ homes.
She said that she has had to deal with angry and concerned vendors, and tell them that her firm has NOT quit Rightmove.
She told Eye: “The leaflets are completely untrue as my company is continuing to advertise our clients’ properties on Rightmove, and we have not used Zoopla for over two years now.
“We have therefore actually enhanced the marketing of our clients’ properties by advertising them at OnTheMarket.”
The Your Move leaflet to vendors is headed: “Have you just lost 1 in 3 home buyers online?”
It says: “Did you know that your estate agent has removed your property from online portal Rightmove … and when they’re [1.9m] buyers searching on Rightmove, they’re now certain not to find your property.”
A second leaflet was also apparently delivered to sellers, which appeared to be a checklist for internal use by Your Move branches.
Mains had instructed solicitors, demanding an undertaking from Your Move, together with a claim for damages, legal costs and interests, by the end of today.
However, last night, Your Move confirmed to Eye that the leaflets had been delivered in error and said it was sorry.
Alistair Sundin, area sales director for Your Move in the north-east, said: “We apologise that Sarah Mains customers have been contacted in this way which was an error on the part of one of our branches.
“Following an in-depth investigation of this matter we plan to contact Sarah Mains to apologise and we are contacting the customers concerned to advise them that the information was sent in error.”
Last night, it was not clear whether the apology was enough.
Sarah Mains told Eye: “The reference to one branch making an error is untrue as we have customers from our branches both north and south of the River Tyne reporting that they have received these incorrect letters.”
Comments (7)
This is another example of the industry airing its dirty linen (and dirty tricks of some) in public. All it serves to do is diminish the public's perception of agents. In reality I guess what Sarah will have found is that her clients would have thought it pretty poor practice by the other agent. The public are less concerned about the "estate agency web debate" than the corporate companies seeking to make cheap commercial capital in the way they are trying
In public? How many of the general public do you know Typhoon that read PIE?
I'm obviously too ethical. I sell my service on what "I" can do for the customer and not what "THEY" are not doing. Slagging off the competition as far as I am cocerned is lower than a snakes belly. Are we not trying to raise the standards of estate agency rather than drag it along the gutter?
Typical corporate robot idiot agents.
I shouldn't worry Herb, since 1986 with all the corporate cash and executive genius what have the corporates actually achieved? A transient 20% grip on the industry with unsustainable business models that can only be supported by economies of scale, seriously questionable salary and commission practices and spivery like this.
The same pattern emerges. A factually wrong tout letter, an apology and an investigation. This 'rabble' along with the other culprits are laughing at us all as it just keeps happening, but will Trading Standards, NAEA or anybody else do anything about it ?
At least they didn't say you had shut down completely which is what they did to us. How many times can they keep doing this and thinking it's OK just to say sorry?