An investigation is under way after a review on Trustpilot made the extraordinary claim that a Purplebricks Local Property Expert allowed a property to be lived in by someone else.
The review was headed “Absolutely horrendous – do not use these people”.
The reviewer claimed that the LPE had allowed someone to live in their flat while it was for sale on the market.
The reviewer said: “I called in to check on my vacant property one night and found somebody had been living there.”
He alleged that the LPE “had the keys to my flat and had allowed some random person to live in it. Dirty underwear in the bathroom, someone else’s clothes in my wardrobe, kitchen cupboard full of food.
“Purplebricks let someone illegally live in my flat whilst they had the keys and thought they would get away with it.”
Yesterday evening, a Purplebricks spokesperson said: “We have received a customer complaint and are working with them to establish what has happened in this instance.
“It is our understanding that a third party contractor was undertaking works on behalf of our customer at their property with access arranged via Purplebricks.
“We were not aware that the property was being used for anything other than the purposes for which access was being granted.
“We are however investigating the matter with our customer, the contractor and the Local Property Expert. We have robust security procedures and protocols in place that we require to be followed in all instances.”
EYE has chosen not to name the LPE identified in the Trustpilot review, and not to give a link to it, given that there is no outcome to the investigation. Please can we ask that our readers follow this protocol in your posts.
Comments (43)
Are sub-letting empty properties covered in PB’s small print yet?
Very quiet from the #Fanboys today.
Mmm. Significantly absent. There is a god.
GPL
Let’s give some balance here. We’re always accused of being Negative Normans/Nancys on EYE… of focusing on the poor and ignoring the good – so I’d like to give an example of a FIVE STAR review.
This customer clearly thinks the sun shines from every conceivable orifice of the LPE – so let’s post it for all to see exactly why:
“We’ve just purchased our first home and are so excited. Thanks to David Catchpole, we got the house under the asking price and we should be able to proceed as quickly as possible. David was great with our negotiations and was really helpful when showing us around the property compared to the local estate agents.”
No need for further comment from me, I would suggest.
Aaaaaww PeeBee, I think you’re just going all Purple now.
On a semi-serious note, I’m sure we all accept that there are some good LPE’s in there are I’ve read some good reviews relating to the good ones. It’s just a shame that they’re working with PB however I don’t know what took them there, each to their own.
The whole “get paid for each instruction” is from the dark ages in my view however if Homesellers think selling (or letting) homes is easy then PB demonstrates that Onliners Only remain a pretty poor choice for Homesellers most valuable financial asset.
The dumbing down performance of Purplebricks only serves to highlight that genuine High Street Estate Agents undoubtedly have their place for the Homeseller who really values their home and how it is marketed/sold.
Purplebricks is building a very useful illustration, via their Negative Reviews (that actually get through), about the real difference between the Online or Upfront Only Companies portraying themselves as Estate Agents when in fact they are a world apart from a real High Street Estate Agent.
The cracks are beginning to shine through the Purple Pyramid, shedding light on what it really is.
Now that actually made me laugh out loud!
Thanks PeeBee
Thankfully I’m on holiday today as I’ll need to lie down and rest after reading that Purplebricks Review!
Wow! The longest NEGATIVE Online Review I’ve ever read Purplebricks…. Commisery indeed!!
morbius 5 just over a day ago comments in his 1 Star Review
I could not and would not recommend Purplebricks to anyone. It will shortly be 4 months since I put my property on the market with them and it is frankly one of the worst mistakes I have ever made.In 115 days on the market, they have achieved the grand total of ONE VIEWING in nearly FOUR months for my property, read that again. ONE viewing in what will be in five days, FOUR MONTHS. In actual fact, that viewing also came via a private advert I placed myself, and the couple who viewed then booked via the Purplebricks system, so in reality, Purplebricks have actually achieved NO viewings in FOUR MONTHS.When my so called ‘Property Expert’, attended my house, he barely spoke to me, agreed a valuation with me that he that then changed in the actual half ***** valuation he provided two days later. He left telling me would have my advert up on Rightmove the next day, and then disappeared. Two days later, he then sent a ‘valuation’ which essentially consisted of him entering the addresses of a property that had sold nearby, and one in the next town that bore no relation to my property whatsoever, into a wizard (so no effort involved whatsoever), along with a note saying he would get on with my listing the next day (presumably because he was too busy signing up more idiots just like me, to keep to his word and actually get on with my listing as he had promised, and because I had already paid upfront, had no incentive to actually do so.When I then rightfully complained, that I had paid £1400 up front, and he had come to my house, barely spoken to me, promised to have my listing up the next day, then disappeared with no contact and no explanation as to why it had not been done, not replied to my messages, fobbed me off with a half ***** meaningless ‘valuation’ and a excuse telling me he would ‘do it tomorrow’ and stated I hoped this would not be a ‘sign of what was to come’, he then rushed to get my listing up, meaning my listing became a rushed affair, which should not have happened.When I then saw the photos he had taken, they were of disappointing and inferior quality, many were out of focus and did nothing to promote my property. The listing also left a great deal to be desired. It then took him nearly two weeks to correct an error in my floorplan and listing with regard to the sizing of my rooms, even with my repeatedly contacting him, despite Purplebricks assurances that your Property Expert ‘will remain in constant contact with you throughout your sale, and will be available to you at anytime, day or night, 7 days a week’.After a period of no viewings, given a useless listing, out of focus inferior quality photos, and a so called ‘Property Expert’ who had said one thing to me in my living room re a valuation and then eventually, when he could get around to actually sending me the half ***** ‘valuation’ quite another, I then tried to upload my own photos to improve my advert, and then proceeded to have to argue every time with Purplebricks, whose website has a permanent error which state I have ‘no live photos on my listing’, despite the fact I actually have 25. Then I have to argue with their ‘Support’ Staff, who are meant to either approve or reject photos, but instead send you an email, eventually saying they have deleted a photo or photos, but do not actually delete it. Meanwhile, my so called ‘Property Expert’, you know that person who will ‘remain in constant contact’ actually remains NOWHERE TO BE SEEN, except to send me an email once a month, telling me to reduce the price of my property, as seems to be a running theme, judging by other reviews, because apparently, out of focus photos, badly written listings, & non proactive estate agents aren’t what sells houses, apparently bargain basement prices are. Still I got NO VIEWINGS, proving that even their ill advised & clearly cut and paste advice of ‘reduce, reduce’ doesn’t help either.Eventually, tired of the NON ‘support’, and the NON ‘Expert’, and essentially having a listing which was doing more to prevent me selling my house than actually help me, I made a complaint to Purplebricks ‘Customer Services’ and asked them to either do something about my ‘Property Expert’ to ensure he would start behaving more like the advertised qualities we are meant to be paying for, and which the reviews are raving about, or to switch me to someone else. What I got from Purplebricks ‘Customer Service’ told me a great deal about them as a company. First they fobbed me off with positive upspeak and gobbledygook, that told me what a great service I’d had from them, despite the fact it was all untrue, as though telling me I’d had great service when I had not, would somehow confuse me and convince me they were right. This only told me exactly how stupid they believe their target audience to be. Clearly I am not that target audience. Then they told me that their ‘Property Expert remained committed to selling my property’, despite the fact that my complaint was that their Property Expert had done little to nothing to sell my property to begin with, and this had resulted, at that time, in my having ONE viewing in TWO MONTHS, and I believed that leaving the situation as it was, would only result in that unacceptable situation continuing. They then told me that I ‘SHOULD hesitate to contact Mark if I had any queries’. I have NOT misquoted Purplebricks there. Whilst fobbing me off and totally ignoring my complaint, they actually told me that I SHOULD hesitate to contact their Property Expert if I had any queries, which is a Freudian Slip if ever I saw one.I paid Purplebricks up front because I had already researched their conveyancing services in advance and read the horror stories re those, and since you are legally obliged to use those if you defer their charges, I did not want to be tied into using them. I had also noted that since I had researched those services last year, Purplebricks has taken the further step of not revealing the name of the conveyancing firm you will be allocated until AFTER you have signed up with them. This, I believe, is done because it prevents you researching the name of those firms on sites like this, as I did previously, and would therefore prevent you reading the terrible reviews as I did, and no doubt others have, and is a way of hiding that information, therefore diminishing the usefulness of sites like these.I have therefore wasted £1400, basically on an advert on Rightmove, PrimeLocation and Zoopla. There is NO Estate Agent with Purplebricks. There is NO ‘Property Expert’. There is virtually NO CONTACT, let alone ‘constant contact’. The ‘valuation’ I received was a half ***** affair that a search online by a twelve year old could have achieved better results at.Far from helping me sell my home, I believe Purplebricks’ inferior quality out of focus photos and disinterested ‘Property Expert’, who is clearly far too busy travelling around the area signing up fools to actually be in ‘constant contact’ with anyone, or to actually be proactive in any way, and their ‘Customer Service’, who completely ignored my concerns, and have let this unacceptable situation continue for at least twice as long as it should have, have actually hindered me selling my home, for it has remained online and unsold for far longer than it would have otherwise, and now looks as though there must be something wrong with it. That listing wasted the prime time I had to sell my house, and wasted the opportunity. Such poor representation does more to wreck a sale than achieve it, and frankly if this is how these people act at the beginning of the sale process, I seriously fear for how they will act in the unlikely event I ever find a buyer. The only real confidence I have in them is that they will lose me a sale, even if I manage to find one myself. I have every confidence that they have lost me any sale I might have found already, in the months they have wasted, doing literally nothing to sell my house. They are basically collecting fees from idiots to post adverts on Rightmove, then moving to the next idiot. Those ‘Property Experts’ who happen to be skilled at actually listing properties, and want to do their jobs properly, are at least giving customers something in return, i.e. what they are paying for. Those who are not, aren’t.The main issue with Purplebricks, is this: The reviews on this site are for Purplebricks UK. The UK is a pretty big place, and covers many employees. The Purplebricks’ employee you get might actually care about doing their job properly and selling your house. But what if mine doesn’t? What if Purplebricks have set up a ridiculous system where people are paying whether these people sell your house or not? ‘Property Experts’ are people after all, and some people do their jobs better than others. The Property Expert in your area may be doing their job admirably and may deserve that five star review. I can assure you mine doesn’t.Overall, though, if your house only needs an advert on online portals such as Rightmove etc to achieve a sale, you DO NOT need Purplebricks. There are far far cheaper alternatives, starting at £99 that are miles better and frankly offer everything I’ve got from Purplebricks and more, plus you will be in charge of your own advert and photos. No waiting two weeks for a response and having your future depend on a so called ‘expert’ who is too busy signing up other idiots to respond to you.If your house needs a bit more of a proactive approach to achieve a sale, you still DO NOT need Purplebricks. There is NO CONTACT. There is NO PROPERTY EXPERT, they are NOT ESTATE AGENTS. They will take your money and DISAPPEAR. Use an online portal that you can pay AFTER they have actually sold your property and ONLY if they SELL your property, or use a high street estate agents. That way, both they and their Customer Service department still have some incentive to care whether you are alive or dead.
Crikey! Took me only slightly longer to read War & Peace.
Certainly a motivated seller to leave a review like that!
Sadly if they had asked a high street agent they would have warned them about all the above, that’s the problem with armchair experts 😉
Popped over to have a look at PB Trustpilot Feedback…. curious to find the feedback noted in this PIE News Story
Essentially Lizzie reviewed 1 Star 8 Hours ago as follows…
Anyone considering using this agent should consider this – they have your money upfront and therefore have no interest in whether your sale completes or not. They seem fine to start with and encourage clients to wrote positive reviews early on, then any good service will stop. To say they were difficult to get hold of was an understatement. They do none of the work that local agents will do to push the sale along. They tie you in to using their own chain or solicitors who are truly appalling by charging huge fees (mentioned in the small print) to anyone who wants to use amother firm of solicitors. Anyone considering this agent should read the reviews for their Solicitors first. Our sale very nearly fell apart because there was no support from the purple bricks local agent and the purple brick’s solicitors were ignoring all the other solicitors in the chain. Using this agent caused a whole lot of stress and extra work for everyone involved in the chain. Would never use again.
What gives PB, and there are a number of 1 Star Negative Reviews? ……what happened to the “Careful Review Management Strategy”?
then we have Julie Haines, also 8 Hours ago…
It’s hard to give any other rating. They did not answer emails or get back to our phone messages. I can’t imagine they would have bothered showing anyone our house once they got our money up front. Pretty disgusted all round.
then Rosemary Frost, 54 mins ago….
I paid £1149 to include accompanied viewings as I live 300 miles away from the property to be sold. Visiting the house after several months (during which there were only two viewings), I found that the house had been left insecure, with the garage doors, including the internal door between garage and the rest of the house, left unlocked and with the keys in this lock. Teenagers had got into the house, witnessed by neighbours across the road. Purplebricks refuse to accept responsibility, and offered me £150 compensation, later raising this to £300. I wished to cancel my contract but they have refused. I have now gone to the ombudsman.
….and Dan H, 2 Hours ago….
We were very interested in a property Purple Bricks had up for sale. We provisionally booked an appointment for a viewing at the weekend but this was rescheduled to the following Wednesday by our ‘local property expert’ Kat Fuller. Then on the Monday Kat sends us a six worded message saying the property had been sold. We were very disappointed as we had not had the chance to view and make an offer on what looked like a great family home. From the sellers perspective its likely they could have got a better deal and it appears Purple Bricks have misread the local market. Combined with not arranging viewings for all interested parties the seller has lost a lot more on what they have saved on estate agents fees. As a fixed fee agent who gets paid upfront the amount of effort they will go to will always be limited. They might get you a quick sale but certainly not the best deal.
Noting of course they have Positive Reviews as well. Just surprised to see Negative Reviews actually getting through.
They will be gone shortly
“Peanuts and monkeys” Says it all!!
It would be a very quiet forum if only those who have never made a mistake posted.
I have made more than most, I have learned something from each, I’d be really stupid if I didn’t.
I don’t have a problem with the honest decent agents who work hard and dominate a single #local area and are experts. It is the claim they are all experts and experts in all areas that I disagree with. The management and marketing let a good company and good idea down.
If they were all single area reps, doing a solid job of agency there wouldn’t be anything to highlight or mock.
All the usual suspects posting on here who who have never made a mistake, missed a viewing or had something awful happen that was out of their control. If it’s PB then you all jump all over it. Those is glass houses….
Air BandB in action. That’s what the LPE’s have to do to earn crust to pay their mortgages. Come on boys, there are some good jobs going with “real” estate agents.
Most of the posters on here freely admit to making genuine mistakes, I certainly do and have in the past, and, I make it clear that this is not the first time it has (allegedly) happened in this industry, nor will it be the last. That said, if an agent continually uses misleading advertising/ patently false claims* about success rates and rubbishes its competitors, it is in a glasshouse of its own making. It shouldn’t be surprised when defenestration takes place.
*various ASA rulings, claims that all staff were fully qualified, 88% list to sold claim which is continually amended downwards/ never substanttiated etc.
SLF?
To soothe you I have reached into the Estate Agents Golden Music Jukebox and found you an appropriate tune….
”Ladeeeeeez & Genteeeeeelmen” …..
”Playing for You now, those icons of music, been around even longer than many of the Estate Agents on PIE! ……..”
”The Rolling Stones” with…..
”Sympathy for the Devil”
Kick back SLF, slip off your Purple Moccasins and Enjoy
You’d be hard pushed to mistakenly let someone live in your client’s property.
I’ve often thought that where there has been a big tragedy, Grenfell, flooding, wildfire, snowstorm etc that it would be nice to be able to house those people for a night or two in empty properties, but the legal issues are just too much. Plus, if they have a roof over their heads then the LA is less likely to find them alternative accommodation so you are suddenly stuck with someone who isn’t a tenant, and isn’t a squatter as you invited them in…
But you certainly never let someone live there without the owners permission!
Another can of worms – the respectable LPE’s ( I know you may find that hard to believe given the way the management behave – why would anyone respectable work with them?). Well that’s the issue now. Those LPEs will go – there are plenty of US – we have worked relentlessly to build an area – recruited teams – at our own cost – jumped however high Kenny Bruce told us to jump. that was then – NOW we are being told about robust internal compliance procedures which are ”over and above any legislative obligations ” – lPEs sick and tired of being TOLD what to do – incurring extra work and cost – threatened with financial loss and now we have to tick a box agreeing we could be subject to criminal proceedings too Screen shot to follow later.
Think the legal eagles will be very busy shortly – this has gone on long enough – too many just walk away and don’t.
have the determination to take them on – it’s a numbers game Kenny – you should
be worried how many numbers think like I do. hope Watchdog go for the jugular
This is not being self employed –
pinkishpurplewarrior
Do you have any insight on the PB KPIs recently published
Viz…
The instruction revenue per listing has fallen from £762 to £666 (less than the min. fee of £707.50 plus VAT).
Is this dramatic fall due to customer refunds ?
Thankyou
Please get in direct touch PPW. We know there are good LPEs and we know what you were all promised, what has been claimed customers can expect and what many of you are actually earning/ having to undertake, simply to put food on the family table.
ppw
I acknowledge your comment and accept that many LPEs/TOs and other staff are good Agents, hardworking – and want to do the best job they can. The last part of which, I am afraid, is where we start to go down differing trails.
IF the majority of ‘traditional’ BOs believed that we could offer the same service to our sellers, landlords buyers and tenants by closing our doors to them; to giving up tried and tested means of promoting homes; to reducing our overheads to a bare minimum and still expecting a decent RoI or income – them why aren’t ALL the High Street Agencies closed?
Because it works. That’s why.
Because WE believe that the High Street offering is still required by the vast majority – and the same vast majority are currently backing us on that belief.
What I can’t figure is why the “respectable LPE’s” such as yourself have put up with it; have let it happen and continue to happen… but most importantly, have supported it with your actions.
…
I deleted the rest of the post. For once I realised I’d overshot the runway – and that happens approximately once every never.
In the main it’s not the people on the ground like ‘ppw’ I have the issue with.
The last paragraph I left before the cut is however a valid question and I would appreciate your honest response.
I’d rather ‘work’ with you on this, ppw – if that is a possibility – than against you. In the main we seem to want the same thing.
PB I agree. Before taking the decision to open my own agency, I mystery shopped PB and went through the interview process, which wasn’t exactly tough. Enjoyed a chat with Mr B via Skype (shame his camera wasn’t working and I just spoke to a For Sale board!! but anyway, my point is………that very early on (about 10 minutes) it was clear given the “projected” figures, ratio of conversion from val to om (which I still could not believe was the point they got paid!!) to even begin to earn a living, set up costs, limited company fees etc etc etc etc…….it does not make any financial sense. More importantly (to me) was that I just could not bring myself to represent this company and the “flack” likely to come my way, through various holes in their process and procedures. It’s a ridiculous business, full of ego driven individuals who essentially are pyramid salesmen, striving to earn back what they have put in, at any cost.
I did start my agency, we do offer unbelievable service, we are now making profit, we do have many extremely happy customers, we do enjoy our business and we do make our own decisions……long live the High Street and people who genuinely work in this business for their customers and not a flaky PLC equity share stake, of which I am sure there are so many clauses to selling, you would be better off having CWD shares at the moment..
PPW
Thank you for coming out and dispelling some of the myths, we all have ideas of what is happening at PB towers but good to finally hear from somebody within the camp.
You and others are quite obviously employed but have the burden of self employment. I hope you and others get what is owed and by the sounds find a better place to work.
Obviously never happened before to a high street agent?
The PB bashing on here, is getting beyond ridiculous
Let me get this right DK43 …..Purplebricks can bash estate agents with ridiculous TV Ads etc …..however estate agents have to simply make no comments against Purplebricks?
I’m sensing when you look in the mirror DK43 you see a very, very, very Sad Clown Face looking back at you!
As in the game of tennis ….if one serves it, expect it to be returned.
its just constant on here…if they are as bad as people make out, then no need to worry IMHO
To be fair DarrelKwong43, they constantly bash estate agents on the TV, radio, social media etc, all day, every day. You can’t do that and expect no backlash from it.
Admittedly it does occasionally get a little tiresome on here though……….
Ah yes, the forthcoming Purplebricks Ad may go like this….
The voiceover…. “Today is Commiserday for Mr Purplebricks…. however for this Purplebricks Customer its… COMPENSATION Day!”
The advert plays….. Mr Purplebricks walking up the pathway to one of their customers homes …..the purple suited/bowler hatted Mr PB turns and looks at the camera ……he has a very sad Clowns Face painted on …..he looks nervous …..and he looks very, very, very sad!
The camera cuts to the front door of the PB customer’s home ….. Mr Sad Clown Face Purplebricks reaches out to knock the front door …..however the door suddenly opens and a delighted Purplebricks Customer appears with a very, very Happy Clowns face painted on! …..the customer thrusts out their Giant Clown Hand and Mr Sad Clown Face Purplebricks hands over a very, very large Cheque!
The Customer shouts through a brightly coloured Megaphone…. “COMPENSATIONDAY!!!” …..then throws the Purplebricks For Sale Board at the PB Clown and slams the door shut!
Another voiceover ends with…. “Using Purplebricks isn’t always Commisery, for this customer its COMPENSATIONDAY!”
The camera pans back up to the Sad Clown Face Mr Purplebricks and he is clutching his Purplebricks Purple Briefcase…. and “Compensation Cheques” are bulging out of it!
The final slogan appears on the screen….
”COMMISERY INDEED …..IF YOU USE PURPLEBRICKS!”
It sounds as if you’ve already filmed it?
Just in my mind Wobbly
PB property experts are not making what was promised in their weekly pay packet.
I think there will be more incidents like this once the PB property experts are about to leave PB.
Why will no one be surprised at this story? All agents of all business models have bad apples and this is not the first time this has (allegedly in this instance) happened in the industry as a whole and won’t be the last. What is also the case, is that some firms have their own gravitational pull to this type of agent due to the way they recruit, operate, their ethos and the manner they treat their colleagues. Expect more stories like this, including Air B&B ‘rentals’.
Ahhhh commissary, when you find out your local LPE has been sub-letting your property out?
Classy stuff from the property experts at PB!
The public are starting to see the emperor’s new clothes ….
or see through them?
Take them to the cleaners?
not surprised. Anyone who can sign up someone to a pay any way scheme is morally corrupt . Pity rightmove and zoopla don’t feel the same about it’s favourite agent.
Or indeed find them in the bathroom!
Brilliant!