Purplebricks viewings complaint informally resolved by ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has informally resolved another complaint made against wording on Purplebricks’ website. 

A complainant suggested that the wording on the hybrid agency’s website did not make it clear that viewings are not included in its fixed fee. 

The ASA then took the complaint to Purplebricks, which subsequently agreed to amend the section on its site that said: ‘viewings – we take care of them all’.

Purplebricks has been the subject of numerous complaints to the advertising watchdog - and in July the ASA upheld a complaint made by a rival agency regarding client testimonials.

Following this case, the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team issued a warning to all agents, reminding them to ensure all advertising claims are both 'accurate' and 'truthful’.

Last month, the agency received criticism on BBC One's Watchdog programme and its share price took a hit as a result. 

Meanwhile, another complaint made against an estate agency has been informally resolved by the ASA.

The watchdog received a complaint about a Rightmove advert placed by Simmons Estates, based in Hertfordshire.

The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading due to the property being promoted as having four bedrooms, when it actually had three.

“We approached Simmons Estates and it accepted that the text description had appeared in error and that there were three beds upstairs with an optional room downstairs,” a spokesperson for the ASA told Estate Agent Today. 

“They amended the text in the ad to reflect that.”