Agent Rob Sargent, who called for Rightmove to give agents a six-month payment holiday, has said it is not too late for the portal to act.
Sargent, who heads up major south-east chain The Acorn Group, made his call shortly before Rightmove announced its controversial deferred payment option.
Yesterday evening, Sargent made clear his feelings after an unprecedented day on EYE for comments on the Rightmove stories we carried yesterday.
He said: “This was always a conversation that was going to have to happen. It has been on the shelf for a long time.”
He said that Rightmove is out of touch with the reality of the coronavirus crisis, and how it is already affecting agents’ businesses and the wider industry.
He said: “I had an email correspondence with Peter Brooks-Johnson, Rightmove’s CEO, and his view was that coronavirus is a small blip, in what was shaping up to be a good year for the market.
“He also said he was very busy but that I would hear from David Anderson, the sales director, and Simon Fielden, the commercial director. But I have heard nothing.
“As I speak, the Prime Minister has just announced the closure of all schools in England, indefinitely from this Friday and the whole of London is moving closer to a full lockdown.
“I spent yesterday, after the EYE story appeared, constantly on the phone to agents from all over the country, reaching out to me to discuss the way forward.
“They, like my staff, are very worried about their families, their health, their jobs and how businesses will get through this.
“Rightmove’s lack of empathy is astonishing.”
He added: “These are very difficult times, but it is not too late for Rightmove to do the right thing and I am waiting to hear.”
- This morning OnTheMarket announced a 33% discount to paying agents – see separate story.
Comments (131)
Just left my review for Rightmove on trust pilot, might be worth everyone leaving a review!
Before we leave on April 31st……is it really bad form to delete absolutely everything from RM? Photos, floor plans, descriptions the lot in the back office so that this will no longer appear in BPG? It will only show as an address!
Received yesterday…….
Good Afternoon Louise,
We received your email requesting the cancellation of your Rightmove membership. We’re very sorry to see you go.
Your Rightmove membership is set to end: 01/05/2020 which means your properties will continue to appear on Rightmove right up until this date. Until then you can also take advantage of the reports and insights in Rightmove Plus.
We don’t want to lose you as our member and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your options. If you change your mind, you can always come back to Rightmove. We’d love to help you.
Since we’ve received this we will be in touch shortly to explain what happens next.
We wish you the very best going forward.
Best regards,
Congratulations Louise 🙂
…….what is utterly dumbfounding once again is to see the Rightmove Auto Reply? …..that’s what you got after paying Rightmove a chunk of money annually, probably over a number of years.
Basically they take a minimum of £1200 to £1500 per branch, let’s work that up to £14,400 to £18,000 and then let’s just say for discussion sake that figure is averaged annually over 5 or 10years at £15000, so – £75,000 to £150,000,
then for every 10 branches that leave – looking back over 10 years at £150,000 …..is £1,500,000
….or 100 branches over 10 years is £15,000,000
……and let’s go to 1000 branches over 10 years …..£150,000,000 MILLION!!!
So, as Rightmove’s Financial Cake gets smaller …..so, the remaining Subscribers just keep getting Squeezed & SQUEEZED & SQUEEEEEEEZED!!! The “Leavers Loss” is shared by those that remain “Loyal?” to Rightmove???
…………in this ( ______________________________ ) write your own description of how you would describe Rightmove’s attitude to their Agents.
Each Overpaid Overlord at Rightmove just quietly hoovers up the millions, the share options, the damn good life …….and waits to move over and let the next “player” in the game
……and Agents FUND this lavish digital newspaper – with its outdated technology, minimal staff and shocking customer service …….all of which balances so D E L I C A T E L Y …….on the magical “Portal Visitor” Numbers ……..which has been highlighted many times before by other knowledgable PIE ‘ers ……..those Gazillions of Visitor Numbers should mean we are selling MILLIONS of homes every week …..but, we’re not, are we ….because Rightmove is the Hello Magazine for Property, plenty lookers, very few buyers.
Rightmove effectively charges its Agents a minimum of £1200 per month for a Virtual Dance! A Virtual Dance with Virtual Numbers.
We must be living in the Feckin’ Matrix as this simply can’t be happening …….is it?!
Check your Bank Account – every month Rightmove dances in to your account, then back out, with your hard earned money …….in exchange for a Virtual Dance of Numbers.
Wouldn’t you just love to know how many agents have left RM this week.
Any RM reps out there willing to spill the beans?!
Nah, they’re too busy ringing recruitment firms.
……and as the evening slips away Our Queen speaks…..
“At times such as these, I am reminded that our nation’s history has been forged by people and communities coming together to work as one, concentrating our combined efforts with a focus on the common goal.”
Fine & timely words …….and with due respect ……they echo perhaps the sentiment that Our Industry feels towards Rightmove
A hard day at work for myself and sooooo many other UK Agents. Viewing, Negotiating, Re-assuring, Covid Specialist?, another Property Listed (a long chat with 1st-time sellers giving my 30+ experience to help them searching for their next home), more Re-assuring, arranging Viewings for my diary because I’m best placed at the coal face, Updating/Re-assuring Owners …..and my team grafting away just as hard ……No Complaints, No Panic ……speaking to a Devon Agent about a Scottish/English Transaction – they were looking for help/info to move their side of their transaction along …….anyway, you get the idea …….a busy day ……despite the lingering Covid clouds.
So….. what’s my point?
This is the coal face of Agency Work in the UK. Rightmove however? …….every month they rip how much from your Bank Account ……and their service is sh!te, there is no one to talk too, they spout fake talk of “I’ll have a chat with my Manager and get back to you” …….AND DON’T!
Rightmove are simply ROBBING OUR INDUSTRY EVERY MONTH! It’s NOT just a case of leaving folks ……it’s a case of calling out Rightmove, spreading the word about what they are really like ……story by story. It’s not enough just to leave …….the true extent of what a poor service provider they are, and their exorbitant costs needs to be called out in the open!
We are entitled to post our Reviews of Rightmove as current or previous Subscribers …….it’s eye watering, how bad they are. They are the bully who just thinks they can keep dishing out the abuse (in a business sense/shocking customer service).
So…… CALL OUT RIGHTMOVE! It’s the only way to ensure that both sides of the “story” are out there.
Have a relaxing evening folks. We will get through this as we are a hardy breed.
I emailed RM last night asking for a 6 month payment break, with no requirement to pay it back. I gave them 5 days to respond or I would cancel my subscription. My Acct Mgr called me today for a chat and when offered the opportunity to go and talk to the management team and get back to me with an offer, I was told it the management were only going to make their offer and nothing more. I could take it or cancel.
I cancelled and will be off the site at the end of April.
(Small letting agent in Suffolk)
Lots of agents quit Rightmove today 12 in County Durham and rising it’s becoming a pandemic!
Apparently there’s something going on a Rightmove…? Who knew!?
C’mon all, it is time to leave! We served notice to cancel yesterday and this time will see it through. How many of you will have the courage to follow suit and see the back of the scourge of our industry?
Like the local papers, we build them and when they get too big for their boots, it is down to us to bring them back down. We can find another method of effectively marketing our businesses and our clients properties, but when they also get too big for their boots, we need to be prepared to bring them down again!
To our many competitors who will try to use our decision to leave Rightmove against us, we don’t care and will prevail off the back of 25 years professional service to our clients. We will also feel financially unshackled…..can you say the same!?
We have no choice but to stick to our decision now. We have just signed up with OTM following giving notice to RM yesterday. And we certainly aren’t in the mood to increase costs…regardless we will NOT be going back on our RM decision……
This is my email to Rightmove giving them their 1 month notice:
Dear Rightmove,
For many years now I have harbored massive personal resentment towards your company and everything it stands for. I have been a member since 2014 having never missed a payment and have always taken your year-on-year price increases on the chin – after all Rightmove has consistently delivered quality leads for us. Where you’ve lost me is through your sheer arrogance to think I don’t have a business without you. Those listings are only available to you because of the time, money & effort we spend on getting those clients. With respect, you are a property search engine… nothing more than that. You have not made my business successful, it is us Agents who have made you your millions. Perhaps not me alone but collectively without us you have no business.
Your email yesterday was offensive and showed no class. We are industry of Property Professionals and business owners. The COVID-19 virus has had a seismic shift on today’s society in a way we could not have foreseen a month ago. As business owners we are not only concerned about the future of our businesses but as property professionals we are very well aware that there is likely to be a long road to recovery. A £275pm deferred payment does not even touch the sides of the business overheads I’ve got least of all having that debt to you hanging over my head as/when the sector is in (what we hope to be) a recovery period. I don’t think you could have constructed that offer any worse than you did. Through Brexit we struggled – Rightmove offered no help. Through the Tenant Free Ban we continue to struggle – Rightmove offered no help. Through COVID-19 we are venturing into an unstable period – Rightmove offered no help other than adding on the debt.
Through cost cutting measures I’m implementing to secure my businesses future, the one financial burden I can quite comfortably dispose myself of is Rightmove. I refuse to reduce the hours of staff or put them on SSP just to be able to pay you. It is with great personal pleasure I hereby give you my 1 month notice to end our relationship.
Regards
Neel Patel
Well said Neel, indie army!!
I cancelled this afternoon. I want to retain my great staff and pay them properly.
Did you find it as liberating as I did? The saving I’ll be making from next month by going to OTM will help our cash flow so much – especially given OTM are giving the grace period. I still have reservations about the leads I’ll get from OTM but I’ll give it a go
Really encouraging to see the groundswell of action. We’ve just given notice after being on Rightmove from the start. I asked them on 4/3 how much it would cost to just advertise our rental properties as that is 90-95% or our activity. 6 days to get an email back, saying our account manager would make contact, that was 9 days ago, still no contact. 13k per annum to spend on other ideas now.
Firstly, I am so sorry you have not heard from an account manager.
We’ve received your email requesting the cancellation of your Rightmove membership and we’re very sorry to see you go.
Your Rightmove membership is set to end: 01.05.2020, which means your properties will continue to appear on Rightmove right up until this date. Until then you can also take advantage of the reports and insights in Rightmove Plus.
We don’t want to lose you as our member and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your options. If you change your mind, you can always come back to Rightmove. We’d love to help you.
We wish you the very best going forward.
they responded within an hour ! No thank-you.
Good point Dog1. Think the same and how “easy” it is to get our of a contract with a PLC that has no values….not that I can think of a PLC with values at this stage?
This being posted today from me to Peter Brooks-Johnstone….
Peter,
You’ll have gathered that Our Industry, which drives your business, is not happy with Rightmove.
Every Agent in the UK, which subscribes …..or did, or has served notice, or is planning to leave …..we could all neatly write many, many lines on a toilet roll explaining what’s wrong with Rightmove. However, we can’t find any and if we could, they would be too valuable to waste.
Parking my toilet roll humour to one side. Lets get serious Peter.
As thousands of Agents review their business, yesterday/today/tomorrow and the weeks & months ahead, as we take very tough decisions, as we reassure clients, help where we can, work harder, dig deeper ….. where does Rightmove feature in this financial battle, of business versus virus?
Rightmove’s “contractual helping hand”, threats of 50% increase on those who leave/perhaps considering returning later …..that huge cash cushion that Agents have enabled Rightmove to recline on ….what does that say about Rightmove’s attitude to the businesses which have been your lifeblood.
It’s galling for every Agent that you/Rightmove sit at your high financial table and scatter the odd breadcrumb of comfort ……thinking that paltry action will quell the masses.
Get yourself up to my office or I’ll come to yours, better still write openly to every Agent in the UK and explain why Rightmove simply doesn’t care about its subscribers. Admit that Rightmove doesn’t care who lives & who dies. Be honest Peter. Be honourable Peter. At least you can “man-up” that you faced your firing squad like a man should.
I expect no reply Peter as your track record says you will run & hide. Agents across the UK don’t conduct their businesses in the way that Rightmove does Peter. We care about our clients. We care about our staff. We care about our future.
One thing for sure today Peter. Every man & woman in the Our Industry today will stand up and be counted. We just can’t ever see you attaining that level of respect.
Prove us wrong Peter. Stand up, be honest!
Regards, Graeme P Lumsden (proudly a UK Estate Agent)
We’ve been thinking about this for a while so we’ve been taking steps to sell houses without rightmove.
I called them today to check that we were out of contract and said what I’ve been saying for 10+ years.
We’re a small independent agent and I know we pay more per month than my larger competitors who are all able to get group discounts.Individual account managers have been sympathetic but the corporate response is non-existent.
So now that the monthly cost is just shy of our quarterly rent on a high footfall shop in a small market town, its time to let it go. The chap I spoke to didn’t even try to persuade me. So that’s it, notice given.
I’ve never posted on here before but regularly read the comments. Like everyone I’m considering walking away from rightmove and can see plenty have given notice since yesterday. Can someone please advise, is it as simple as just give them notice as I believe we are tied to them for the rest of this year – or is my notice in effect just telling them I wont be renewing when my current agreement ends in November?.
I just emailed the cancellations email address and quoted my branch ID numbers and that is it. If you do it today you will be liable for their fees for the rest of this month and one calendar month after that. In other words it would finish at the end of April. Even that process is stacked in their favour.
Cancel subscription and DD and make them invoice you if they carry on listing your properties through the notice period.
I think that the recent quotes supplied from conversations with RM must surely demonstrate to our entire industry what they have become.
Quite simply in the worst possible trading conditions and certainly the worst outlook I have known in 30 years their attitude is ‘you can’t trade without us and we will charge what we like’. And some are looking to them to be reasonable. Wake up, give notice and stick to it. I am a small independent, I’m not the market leader in my patch, not even in the top 3. I do however, make a comfortable living as a fully independent business. Getting rid of RM 2 years ago was the best business move I have ever made. I have enjoyed greater income, employed an extra staff member and get up every morning in complete control of my business. How some put up with their attitude I will never know but surely, given their treatment of the industry this week now is the time to pull all advertisements from them for good.
Surely it would be a worthwhile move to forward this string to the national newspapers. Not only is it newsworthy, it is likely to reach the eyes and ears of many agents not in receipt of these posts and who may subsequently see fit to jump from this rapidly sinking, overladen ship.
and could effect their stock.
Surely this is a given? This is big news and should make the press, but who goes to them with it?
Certainly the public should be aware
Surely those in charge of this website would have realised this and done it already. If not they should. This should be out there so every agent knows what is happening.
Unless some agents are getting a really good deal, ie below £500 per month, I dont know why anyone would stay. With no new instructions on the horizon, sit down and write down all the services you pay for that their fee in itself would pay for. Did mine and its, SHOP RENT, SOFTWARE PROVIDER, OTHER PORTAL, WEBSITE and PHONE BILL. its a funny old world.
From everything i have heard and read over the past couple of days, agents should not be looking to get a reduction or payment holiday from RM as we know what will happen, they will hit us with further increases along the way.
For the first time ever, there seems to be a healthy number of agents ready to walk away. If ever we are going to do it NOW is the time.
Even if you are still on fence, please consider this.
At the very least remove your lettings branches, you really don’t need RM to let property. We did last year and haven’t had a single Landlord challenge us on it. If you want to give RM a ****** nose, you can remove them from the lettings landscape overnight. The rest will follow.
Secondly products. (AKA RM’s justification into helping themselves to the contents of your wallet) Get rid of them. They are of no value to anyone apart from RM.
Thirdly. Upload late. Give your own site/social media your stock first. Who ever you send data too, make sure its second hand by the time RM get it. The rest will follow.
As said on here many times, ditch the window logos, pens, calenders and all the other tat they send you from your offices.
I should add that I am based in North Somerset. I saw an agent in Taunton had given notice which is not far from us. If anyone else in and around our area is thinking about cancelling but is worried about taking the leap – JUMP. Save yourself, your business and a fortune!
When you’ve given notice, don’t waste a single second and get those Rightmove stickers out of the window, any mention/logo anywhere removed particularly your website. Ensure ALL social media posts, if not already, link back to YOUR website.
Is anyone keeping count?
I tried (very) late last night – lost count/ gave up at 25 posters with over 35 branches between them.
Today seems to add more to that list.
And that’s only the ones that have posted here on EYE about their intentions – the majority long-time posters. But with every respect to Frau Renshaw and her wonderful platform, it’s a relatively small sample of the 15000+ branches that currently use the digital shop window that is Rightmove.
So – let’s chuck some numbers around. Let’s say that in total there’s 100 branches – I don’t think that’s anywhere near an optimistic figure – that decide to ditch the rogue behemoth. Let’s say they are all ‘small agents’ in Rightmove’s scheme of things – ones that get done for full whack (whatever that is).
So let’s say they are all paying an average of £1000 (nett) a month – which is again probably a considerable underestimate, given the figures some have freely quoted.
That’s £100,000 per month – £1.2 million per annum wiped off Rightmoves P (they don’t have a ‘P&L’ – never needed the end bit).
And that’s on what for Rightmove could well be “best case scenario”. Their version of friendly fire – sacrificial lambs in the big farmyard of life. After all, they lost over four times that – nett – in the second half of 2019 when everyone was supposedly happy as pigs in plop with them!
Try doubling that number. Trebling it. Multiply it fivefold if you dare wish for such truly astounding results.
Just remember one thing – regardless of the numbers – each one is a bite out of the elephant.
Thoughts, anyone?
I am past caring what impact I may have on RM by leaving, more concermed with our business survival. RM refusal to assist when the nation is coming together in this unprecedented emergency made the decison to quit very easy.
We will do no damage alone, we are a small independent with 50 odd listings and small rental portfolio, so I am under no illusion that as a business they couldnt care less if we stay or go. But as you rightly say, mutliply that and the picture begins to change. I also think that sentiment, already incredibly fragile between RM and agents, could be beyond repair as people will not forget the stance that they have taken and the utter contempt that they hold us all in.
Much bigger PeeBee.
Murray’s post yesterday has galvanised almost 150 owners now looking to not only reduce costs but leave.
I fully appreciate that, Smile Please.
My 100 branch example was, I would suggest, EYE-watering enough to most folk – many, many times their annual turnover yet not much more than a drop in the Rightmove ocean.
But multiply the figures by as many Agents as you would like to think will talk with their feet… the picture quickly changes.
To other portals every leaver is potentially an away goal – one off RM and one onto their platform is double the differential made up.
Rightmove ‘lost’ var nigh 1,000 branches last year. This year could make that look insignificant.
I guess time will tell, mon ami…
I believe there will be many more 100’s. There are countless ‘small’ independent agents afraid of coming off RM and the impacts this will have on their business, but this crisis represents the ideal window for even a small proportion of estate agency businesses to leave.
Might be just a stub of the toe for RM, but really I believe in Karma. They’ve been taking liberties for too long, especially as we built them in the first place. They’ve totally lost sight. How many decent staff have left their business? They’re faceless, arrogant and have a brutal approach to business which has no place in this day and age.
Use the RM website to email all your competitors in the areas you cover (get some value out of it). Explain what is being said on here and ask if they agree. If they do, ask them to join you in a group cancellation and see whether you can agree a pact where the entire area only lists with OTM and no one is on RM. Very quickly buyers will have no option but to shift their search. As I have said many times, buyers become lazy in their search. It is not an amazing website they cannot do without. As someone else pointed out earlier, it is ultimately just a basic portal. We direct buyers seraching in our area elswhere and they use that instead. If we do this area by area it will soon have a HUGE impact. I have already seen one of my two offices has more leads come through OTM than RM anyway.
#enoughisenough
We could do that but we have a few behemoths around here, including one R Sargeant. He is talking like he wants to negotiate more than walk away.
I got tired of allowing RM to play the divide and rule with agents and just served notice yesterday.
I’ve been getting more off of OTM recently anyway. I would rather spend the money on social media. If any competitor, says that they should not use me, because I am not on RM, I will be pointing out that they should not use ‘x’ agency as they ONLY rely on RM and are no better than purple B.
Its a people business.
RM lost 1000 EA branches in the year to 31st December (6% of total).
They have probably lost another 200 before this “Ratner Moment”.
A couple of Independents quitting in every town/area will precipate a “tipping point” – which will relegate RM to number 2 or even number 3 portal.
Expect someone acting as “honest broker” to negotiate a deal “for the good of the industry” with RM in the coming days 😉
Wonder if I’ll get a reply within 24 hours? We’re out out. Stopped advertising for them and using promotional material years ago….
Thank you for contacting Rightmove Cancellations team. Please accept this email as confirmation that your enquiry has been received. We aim to reply to your enquiry within 24 hours, during busy times we appreciate your patience. However, if your enquiry is of an urgent nature, you may wish to contact us by telephone on 01908 712238. Please note that our opening hours are 8:30am-6:00pm Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays. Thanks again, Rightmove Cancellations team.
Our decision, over the course of the last few years was to stick with RM, motivated by fear of our competitors exploiting this decision. Their latest stance and contempt for the very people who make it possible for them to operate, and this isn’t the first time, was reason enough to deal with the consequences as they happen. Our business, as any other, is built upon personal principals and an unwritten code that we treat people with respect……common values amongst us all. I could no longer operate with any conscious knowing that we are partnered with Rightmove. As a Brexiteer I made the decision to vote to leave the EU based on my own principals and beliefs. Whether or not people agree with this it was my decision and I made it knowing it could possibly do great damage to my business. I am making the same decision based on my belief that it is the right decision for me and my business and will stick with it regardless of any change in stance from RM. [We gave notice yesterday ….. cancellations@righmove.co.uk in case you need it!]
For those who may be unsure of the response from RM when you quit, mine included a lengthy conversation with my ‘account manager’ who used the example ‘why would we reduce our fees, Tesco haven’t reduced their prices!’. It was also interesting as he attempted to pit us agents against each other and that RM had seen a lot of support for the measures that they had bought in. I could go on, but if you are still reading……let me say this, as an industry we must stick together and be rid of the thorn in everyone’s side. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A CHANGE!
Right, cancelled the DD but not yet given notice, mulling it all over and have until April 1st ( cute ) to decide before the cheque bounces whether to formalise or deal with it when they start squawking, decisions decisions, we’ve been open since 1999 and have supported them from the get go but sorry lads its every man for himself where cash flow is concerned and I suspect we can make better use of a couple of grand than the splash page of a greedy bully website advertising property nobody is allowed to view. Cash is King for a while personally and professionally, 5hite got real.
Just do it! All quitters have had the same reservations as you have. With respect, ask yourself what have you got to gain by staying? They’re not going to get you any decent business in the next few months and it would cost you a good few thousand pounds for no return. Do it now – you’ll feel great afterwards, we in Taunton do!
Any word from Propertymark…..no thought not….
I believe Propertymark have been on the phones and on e-mail encouraging RM to offer better concessions. I did ask why?
This is the ideal time to part ways and play an instrumental role in shifting the power to OTM. Agents take control now.
I’ve spoken to a few agents I know and they believe agents will only go back after the crisis. I look forward to serving notice and once gone never look back. Imagine that divorcing the wife and then going back?
RobS, I cannot believe you are going to wait. You own half of the estate agents in South London and enough power to leverage the situation, plus you’re a big player with OTM so why allow RM anymore time?
I’m out out!
It does seem odd – until you consider that some of the larger RM customers (those with more than 25 branches) are probably locked into long-term agreements.
So why would Propertymark (with their links to OTM) get involved ?
Could it be, that someone has realised that the independent agents leaving in significant numbers will cripple RM and disadvantage the larger regionals, corporates and on-liners left behind ?
Can’t see anyone getting a bean out of RM no matter how many branches under one umbrella.
Yes Ostrich17, not one for conspiracy theories usually, but the silence from Propertymark on this is quite suspicious.
And who, pray, are the most successful agents on any High Street? I would suggest that a Rightmove populated by ( low paying ) Regional/corporate/onliners is a dogs dinner compared to marklet leading indies elsewhere strutting their stuff newly invigorated basking in post virus schadenfreude.
htsnom79
I don’t disagree – my point (perhaps poorly made) is that organisations (suppliers & regulators) favour the big players over independents. i.e they tend to charge indies higher fees and yet they cosy-up to the “suits” which populate the larger groups.
Hence, why are propertymark secretly lobbying RM?
Who?
When?
I am a Director of a market leading agent in a market town within the East Midlands.
We have 12 Sales and Lettings branches and we have today cancelled our direct debit and handed in notice to terminate our membership.
We will never return.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re looking to leave Rightmove. Unfortunately we are not offering payment holidays at this stage.
We require at least 30 days’ prior written notice which will expire on the last day in a calendar month on or after the expiry of the 30 day period. For example, where the Notice Period commences on 1st March, it will expire on the 31st March. Where the Notice Period commences on 19th March, it will expire on the 30th April and your last bill payment will be 1st April.
Open to having a discussion if you would like to see if there’s anything further I or we can do to help
Dear all
I have just had what I hope is a positive conversation with Simon Feilden of Rightmove, and I hope he will relay verbatim my feelings, and that of all Rightmove member agents, to the rest of the Board.
In simple terms, I have told him that I/we want a three month holiday from tariff and asked why they don’t do this now? Meaning we can all clear one cost from our cash flows, whilst we wrestle with other issues in our businesses and sustaining through the Covid-19 crisis.
I respectfully ask everybody that feels the same to confirm their feelings, and perhaps not use an ‘online handle’, but instead post exactly who you are and what company you represent. Rightmove need to understand that this is NOT a negotiation but an essential support to our industry, and will logically, in the end, see us be able to continue supporting them.
Rob Sargent
CEO – The Acorn Group
We are of course neutral in reporting this story and providing a platform for discussion.
That said, if anyone who currently uses an anonymous User name wishes to follow Robert Sargent’s request for posting in their own name/company they can do so by creating a new account and having an identifiable User name.
Log out of EYE and then go to https://v3.propertyindustryeye.com/register to create a new account.
You can of course swap between accounts whenever you want.
I believe it is also possible to change one’s profile name?
I did this morning.
I don’t want them to renegotiate, I’ve had enough, I want them out of my business for good. They have used bully boy tactics to scare us into competing with the corporate agents who pay a fraction of what we pay.
You are right, we are seriously thinking of leaving and going to OTM who have offered us 3 months free then a much lower payment than we are making to Rightmove
You are pulling your punches Rob. This is the time to finish them off. If they give us a subs holiday, in Nov there will be an annual subs increase of ~10% PLUS a 20-25% increase to recover funds they have lost from the three month moratorium. You are dealing with the most obnoxious self-serving scum in the whole of the Stoxx 600. Never forget that!
Is this a ploy Rob, to get your competitors to quit and then take advantage by staying on yourself when you get a better deal?????
Truth be told. I have seen this before, they then scoop in and pick up the business.
I spoke to my account manager this morning. To be fair she had the decency to listen to me rant on for 20 mins but by the end of it their hands are tied and the offer is the offer. I said they would have been better off saying nothing and waiting another day or two, rather than insulting us with such a pathetic short term loan. Then their big chief insults the world by claiming it is a ‘blip’. I said it shows how out of touch their firm is. Soon after the call I received an email from her with all the relevant information and I have now given notice, so by the end of April I am free and will list only with On the Market and concentrate my efforts on more locally on social media. I can only hope many other agents follow suit and we manage to find a way to get OTM to replace RM as the destination for buyers. When talking to my account manager, it is clear RM are not worried about this, certainly not for now. That only drives me on to ask you ALL to please consider the same change. For all our long term futures. As others have pointed out, they will NOT change. We need to instead.
ps. She also said this disaster will further drive agents to become online or hybrids.
Why on earth would you even give them chance to put a counter offer forward? You know you’d end up paying any loss to them in increased fees later.
Pointless, as they will just hike their fees again next year to recoup the ‘losses’ they made during the moratorium period, then again a few months after that, then again a few months after that etc etc. By allowing them to make a revised offer and staying with them (or indeed going back to them later after you have left and all of this has blown over) all it is doing is yet again giving them the power as it will once and for all show that they can pull our pants down continuously and we won’t do a damned thing about it. If you were considering leaving, you will never have a better reason to do so than now!
Having read the plethora of comments over the last three months or so regarding RM and their total and utter disregard for their clients i.e. agents, I am amazed that they have any clients left. We are a single office, independent agent, who treat our customers – vendors, landlords, purchasers and tenant with the utmost respect. We value their custom for without them we are nothing.
Having been a customer of RM for eight years with little or no contact, aside from the usual templated email advising us that their fees were increasing, I began t feel that we had simply been enslaved to RM, at their mercy to do to us whatever they wished with little or no regard for our well being. Having suffered this oppression for too long I took the decision to cancel our contract and served notice in mid-January. The contract expired at the end of February and it was only in the last two weeks of our contract that our ‘Account Manager’ began to call. I had received no previous phone calls from him in the eight year period of our contract. He called twelve times and the more he called the more it confirmed to me that my decision was right. I told him that their product had not changed in eight years yet my fee had increased substantially – £1400 pcm by the end of the contract. The banners, training, webinars, etc, etc, are all smoke and mirrors. They have a basic scroll down portal that a seven year old could probably knock-up in their lunch break!
I cannot tell you the feeling I had when I woke up on March 1st and finally felt free. I also checked my bank account and the feeling it gave me was unbelievable. I am using the spare money to update my website, increase my social media platform and drink some rather expensive wine!
Yes, I have had some lengthy conversations with vendors and landlords but as a previous post pointed out – portals do not sell houses, agents do and having sold or let a property not a single owner has ever asked whether the lead came from RM, Zoopla, OTM etc. They simply don’t care. What they do care about is whether you sold it or let it – end of story.
I can’t quite work out how the Government has allowed RM to become a monopoly but it is now simply the case that the tail is wagging the dog. The power is with us the agents not RM so I say to all you agents out there who are wringing your hands over whether to leave RM – just do it and break free. I guarantee you will feel like a weight has been lifted from you and you will not recognise your bank account!
GREAT shout and advice that every agent should follow
Thank you for taking the time to put into words, for the benefit of all of us still enslaved to RM. I am looking forward to the 1st May when we will also be free of the shackles. Have sent [yesterday] our cancellation email to…. cancellations@rightmove.co.uk….in case this is helpful to anyone, was in itself extremely liberating.
WELL DONE TO TO ONTHEMARKET For a business that isn’t making a profit and are managing their own costs to offer a 33% discount for the next 3 months to their agents demonstrates that OTM is the portal to back – what further proof do we need?? Time to ditch RM ( I have) and get behind OTM – let’s make this happen!!
Peter Brooks Johnson should be sacked.
For him to disregard this as a blip is possibly one of the worst commercial statements I have ever heard from a CEO…..
His board of directors should fire him immediately for the insensitivity he has shown to the people who view his website daily………
Simple..Gave notice yesterday as approriate response to David Andersons email.
A blip?
I take it that Mr Brooks-Johnson went to the Donald Trump University of Public Speaking, where presumably he gained a 1st class honours degree in Spouting Unbelievable Stupidities.
RM’s stance is ill-judged underlining what we all know in that they are out of touch with their customers. I suspect they will change tactics and improve their offer. That said, there is danger in poking a giant and a significant change in forecasted income for RM will drive them closer to what must be their ultimate objective of becoming a selling agent – they have the audience and all the advances in prop-tech just need to be assembled! For that to happen you need the necessary infrastructure, marketing expertise, purchasing power and financial backing – they have all of that.
People sell houses not platforms.
Platforms don’t have experience, expertise and certainly don’t have empathy.
Because that’s worked out well thus far for centralised onliners, just given the fact that their abject proposal spikes just when cash flow is tightest shows they just don’t understand how or what we do, they are clueless.
Now is the time.
We get twice as many leads from OTM as RM. And even more from our own website.
The £40k we pay RM each year can be better used to protect jobs.
People sell houses not RM.
It’s on our next board meeting agenda and I’ll be voting ‘leave’.
Maybe hold an ‘Emergency Board Meeting’ soon and do the deed before 31st March?
Do what I did, cancel your DDM…my money stays in the bank till I know what’s happening. I only have financial cushion of maybe 2-3 months then it’s game over. I’ll reinvoke at say £250 pm any more and it’s no dice. I’m not refusing to pay, I’ll pay what I can afford (legally important)…
Zoopla were emailed yesterday as were OTM…HMRC VAT gets a call today.. My 10 biggest outgoings are being called to the table on this, if I go **** up no one gets a penny in the future….makes perfect sense to me…
Big players like Rob Sergeant are on their case.. give him some support..
robert.sargent@acorngroup.co.uk
Cheers
Don’t cancel your DD, you will have debt? That seems counter productive to keeping a business healthy, pay your final installment and then move on.
I also gave notice and cancelled my DD yesterday.
Ditto.
Us too!!
We gave notice of our 4 branch network yesterday and will see it through, even if we get a 6 month holiday.
As mentioned in several of the comments RM needs our content to be No1 and we have been giving it to them every month for years. We worry that other agents in our town wont leave and will then have the RM advantage… if we are all on OTM the RM will no longer have more properties than other portals.
Let’s work together for once, to reduce our outgoings and many of us will be able to come back stronger in time to come.
The market leaders in every local area need to drive the cancellation of Rightmove subs. Screw the Competition Act, just do it. We are not fixing prices, we are a buying group. Rightmove scum have sucked us dry for too long. Market leaders need to hit the phones today and make it happen. Don’t do anything in writing. A permanent mass walk out is the only way we can control our future costs. The camel’s back has broken.
Can someone explain: RM offers to ‘help’ and gets stick. ZPG offers nothing and is left alone – why?
Is this due to RM’s legacy of 10 years of pricing that is too aggressive and much higher in terms of £££?
Or it seems to me that ZPG need some stick too.
But/ surely sensible to drive traffic to OTM.
ZPG need to launch a killer promo for agents who can prove they have given RM notice. Open goal. Shoot!
Zoopla offered to reduce my rates yesterday……………..they are acting quietly and individually……..
Zoopla is not a good enough alternative IMHO which is why I came off and went for OTM instead. All this should be a group cause to come off RM and go to OTM
Story doing the rounds that if 10% of agents give notice that RM need to disclose this to the market.
If you are sitting on the fence now maybe the time to do it.
I am on the fence, easier said than done.
We also gave notice to Rightmove yesterday!
We all need to realise that we can and will survive without Rightmove.
As soon as content is reduced to a level that stops the public thinking that RM is a useful search tool then it has no value to our customers or RM shareholders!
I urge us all to change our mindset when asking RM for help…we DO NOT need them, they need US!
Give them notice, not as a way of negotiating a payment break and allowing them to increase their subscription again in 6 months time to recoup their losses. Give notice and actually leave.
Good luck to every agent out there who is making the drastic changes that we are all going to have to make in the coming weeks and months.
Leave now! It’s our best opportunity to show RM where the real power lies in agency. And it’s not with shareholders. Drive all the traffic to OTM
Notice just served , disgusted at their utter contempt for their customers. I have been a Rightmove member for 12 years and feel completely let down by them.
I emailed in to give RM notice yesterday and have an account manager calling me today. As I explained in my email, they have not shown any signs of caring or helping us through Brexit which has been bad enough, now this. I am FED up with pretending I have an online employee in each office named RM. They will try to cover the cracks knowing we ‘need’ RM so until we collectively make the decision to walk away none of this really means anything.
As I have always been taught and try to tell my children, actions speak louder than words.
If there was ever a time for all estate agents to move across to On the Market and force buyers to move their search there too, it is now. The way RM is set up allows buyers to be lazy with their search in using RM and if we are all on OTM instead they will just register and look on that site instead. Logic tells us that.
I am emailing all the other agents in the areas I cover today to see whether they feel like I do and have they seen this site and the growing frustrations throughout the country. If so, will they consider dumping RM with me or at least signing one complaint from all of us to tell the account manager we are off unless we get at least 6 months off. Whether this will work or not, who knows.
We have to make a stand at some stage and we need to email the likes of Robert Sargent and Murray to say we are behind them to get as many signatures as possible on group complaints. In the meantime, we seriously need to think about moving across and dumping RM for good.
Whether we ever forgive RM for this or not, is just talk. We need to act. We cannot carry on paying their extortionate fees but just hating them even more. #enoughisenough STOP YOUR DD now, if only to make them see they need to come back with a much much better offer
Good luck to you all.
I have just received an email from OTM, they are reducing their fees my 33%. Don’t give RM the opportunity to rectify their crass attitude towards us. When this situation eventually eases, they will be back for more, their shareholders & city analysts will demand it. Back OTM today!
As much I try to stay positive…I can’t help but think (given the escalation over the past 10 days) that a portal payment holiday will be a mere a footnote in the context of that which we are currently witnessing across Europe.
The severe and swift erosion of our civil liberties and now with Army reservists on ‘stand by’ to “help” with population suppression…should concern us all.
That being said…have as successful a day as possible!
Sadly this is no blip Peter. Many agents are already on their knees and need support (not loans). It is time to do the right thing Rightmove, otherwise this is going to backfire.
it is time to not worry about your shareholders Rightmove. your share price will go down but surely it is more important to do the right thing to save the people who created you? Your share price will go back up in the future but many agents don’t have this luxury. They work to put food on the table and employ local people with the same goal.
It’s great to put aside our competition against one another and work together, as an industry, to survive.
lets pull together guys and we’ll done Rob for driving this.
Headstone of man of Rightmove
1940 – 2020
Here lies PBJ
Tragically Taken By a Blip
I gave notice yesterday. I implore everyone to do the same.
This is the only opportunity you will ever have to take the power away from Rightmove and stop every independent agent being ripped off for decades to come.
Be a leader and speak for us all..give them notice today!
We’re giving notice to RM today as are a number of other agents have already done in our region (Coventry & Warwickshire). The beginning of the end for Rightmove, they’ve made a huge mistake and will suffer the consequences now.
I’d encourage all other business owners to now consider their position carefully.
Yep, we did as well on Monday!
It is no good people bleating on about things on here and doing nothing to back up their comments.
I gave notice yesterday. Just give notice instead of banging on about everything negative, that is the only thing that will make difference.
if you don’t do it now, you never will..
ACTION NEEDED, NOT WORDS.
We gave notice Monday!
My firm are, shortly to be were, long standing RM members in Taunton. In view of the regular extortionate hikes in fees, we have been hovering on the brink of resignation for a few months. Yesterday’s completely unsympathetic, indeed idiotic, ‘gesture’ was the final straw and we have this morning cancelled our membership. We understand that other Taunton agents are doing likewise today.
How very greedy and stupid the management of this erstwhile highly successful business are, it is very likely they have just committed commercial suicide.
Goodbye, we’re off.
Good for you.
We left at the end of December, so pleased we did and in the light of the current circumstances a real relief to be paddling our own canoe.
A ****** blip?????????
500 people died in Italy yesterday
Tell their families that it is a blip.
Think on your sins Mr Brookes Johnson
I couldn’t agree more. I wonder what the families losing loved ones would say to his heartless, ill judged comment.
Has anyone set up a group/single point of contact for agents to move as ‘ one’ to leave Rightmove en mass? We need everyone to leave for them to change their greedy complacent attitude.
i checked stats today I have 40% less enquiries from RM than a week ago. Therefor they are, so far, 40% less effective. Shouldn’t their fees reflect this?! On The Market leads were down 33%. But oh hang on…..I’m paying a 3rd less!
It’s a simple equation. Virtually no new instructions likely which means cut costs or die. Reduce working hours where possible. Save cash. Wait for competitive to go bust. Rebuild.
Which email address should we serve notice to?
cancellations@Rightmove.co.uk
we cancelled Monday, it’sa sad joke!
The only thing their shareholders fear more than losing money is losing more money. One agent in the local high street cannot make a difference. One agent in every high street just may.
Agreed ….
The problem is even if they did now offer up something worthwhile after being dragged to it by the agents reaction, leopards don’t change their spots and they will come back a bite your finacial backsides when this crisis passes..
As you know leopards and RM have something in common…Both are preditors !
It’s NOT laughable…. that Rightmove seem almost oblivious to the plight that Agents face?
The 18th March 2020 is Rightmove’s darkest day – the day they set fire to any relationship they had with the UK Property Industry ….a derisory contractural “offer of help?” …….NO, just a slap in the face for Our Industry.
Noting Rob is doing his bit, together with many other Agents across the UK.
This isn’t a 1 person Campaign – it’s a groundswell of action from across Our Industry.
Rightmove need to HEAR FROM ALL OF US – Email them TODAY or as many of us have or will be doing – LEAVE Rightmove or make your plans to LEAVE SOON.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/rightmoveplc/rightmove-contacts.html
Worse still:
Rightmove are oblivious to the plight of the public
The plight of every grannie and grandpa in our land
Our old people will just die of a “blip!!!!”
Shameful
So another 29 people have died today Mr Brookes-Johnson
Mr £2 Million a year Johnson
A blip
Explain your comments to the people who view your site daily will you?
Leave, leave, leave cancellations@Rightmove.co.uk
It is actually the perfect time to do so.
Absolutely . There’s never going to be a better opportunity to break their stranglehold.
As many of us as possible need to leave, yes Zoopla haven’t offered us anything yet but I never hear anyone complain about their charges or excessive profits. It is the good independents that can come out the other side stronger but only if we’re strong now.
If Countrywide don’t survive the crisis, which considering they seemed to be in crisis beforehand seems unlikely, then they’ll be off the site too.
None of us should lay staff off before giving notice to rightmove. They can afford 75% of us to leave and still won’t lose money. It’s our moral duty not to keep their shareholders making profit whilst good people sit on the job market.
Even if people have had issues with OTM in the past, now is the time to forget those from under the previous management and for us to make it the portla that the general public go to instead of rightmove.
I spoke to our Rightmove Area Director who said he thought they were making a very generous offer to agents. Laughable.
The corporate disease runs deep at Rightmove Towers.
We spend circa 10k a month with rightmove and based on their response yesterday have given notice – this will be worth 80k a year profit to them.
For too long they havent listened to their customers – each business has a defining moment. Every one deserves a second chance – this is their chance.
Sitting here however this morning – once the sun starts to shine again am excited about what other marketing I can spend that 120k a year on, its exciting….any suggestions?
Use it to keep all of your staff on.
Then when all this blows over – direct marketing or social media. You will save fortune and increase your instructions
Get a really good mascot ready for the uptick – somebody bouncing around across the neighbourhoods with your sign – might be fun
We are Hobsons Estate Agents in Newton le Willows ph 01925 299 392
Rightmove have drained us dry, they will not negotiate or discuss a reduced rate during this period of unprecedented difficulty. We tried the link and it did not work for us so we are going to try again later. We have also phoned and discussed with someone standing in for our accounts manager with no joy. It is our intention to cancel our membership of Rightmove and join Onthemarket.
They leave us with no option, valuations have been cancelled and so have viewings. We cannot get our rent reduced so how can we reduce our overheads while there is no business coming in!
Eileen
Do it!! We served notice yesterday, after 17 years membership. It’s feels like someone has taken the gun away from our heads!!
We have just served notice – 20 offices gone ‘in a blip’
A big thank you to all who have encouraged us to finally make the decision and jump ship. The only question now, is how many will stay out once RM give away freebees to tempt them back ! Please, please stand by the courage of your convictions and stay out and support ‘the agents mutual’ – OTM.
BRAVO!
We’ve done it! We have left Rightmove onthemarket.com has our business now!