Emoov insider claims “insane” staff churn and “astounding” complaint levels

One of Emoov’s agents in the field has contacted Estate Agent Today to give an insight into how the agency has operated in the months leading up to it being put up for sale.

The Local Property Agent, who gave their identity to EAT but asked to remain anonymous, claimed: “Emoov is not a positive experience... especially for our vendors.”

The source - who was working in one area of the UK and was not based in the agency’s headquarters - said all Emoov LPAs were passionate and determined to do the best possible work for vendors; many had substantial traditional agency experience.

But the source added: “When our internal teams take over for viewings, negotiations and progression, everything falls apart. The amount of complaints we have to field on a daily basis is astounding.”

The agent told EAT that LPAs were not informed about overall company financial information but claimed that when Emoov merged with Tepilo and online lettings platform Urban (a deal which at the time was said to be worth £100m) “customer service just went down the pan and everything started getting substantially worse.”

The source suggested this could be a particular issue given the company focus on what was called “self-gen - door knocking, canvassing, signing up friends.” 

The source gave an example of the problem: “I signed up a couple of friends’ houses, both of which had offers within days but Emoov did absolutely nothing with the offers. In both cases, the potential buyer had to go back to the property and knock on the door to give the offer verbally to the vendor.”

The LPA also said “staff turnover is insane here” and believed that of the 25 LPAs in place in January 2018 only five were still in place.

“They have, of course, recruited more since January but around seven have left this week” the source told EAT over the weekend.

The source also explained the pay structure, claiming that LPAs were employed by Emoov on a commission only basis and did not get any commission on their first seven up-front sign ups each month.

The source alleges some, but not necessarily all, LPAs enjoyed a £2,000 minimum monthly guarantee but in some cases that may have been withdrawn. The individual concerned had earned around £21,000 to date this year.

Both the chief executive of Emoov, Russell Quirk, and the Emoov press office have been given details of the points made by the LPA who reached out to Estate Agent Today; Russell Quirk told us he would not be commenting on specific points but said: “All LPAs work remotely and are not involved in the day to day workings of the office, offers etc.”