Purplebricks has launched an emergency hotline for customers of Emoov and Tepilo that are stranded by the agencies’ collapse.
A statement this afternoon says that Purplebricks chief executive Michael Bruce wants to help those who have paid a fixed fee and are yet to sell their property, and says they have the opportunity to list their property on Purplebricks free of charge.
Customers can call the Purplebricks hotline on 01926 356659 from 8am tomorrow and have until December 21 to take advantage of the offer.
“It has been clear that Emoov has been in difficulty for some time and we've said we want to do what we can to help their customers. In simple terms we’re offering Emoov and Tepilo customers who have paid a fixed fee or deferred payment and not yet sold their property the opportunity to come to Purplebricks absolutely free of charge” says Bruce.
“If they call our hotline we’ll make arrangements to value their home and then market it just like all the other properties that are being sold through us. We’re doing this to help these customers because we believe in doing the right thing. We are a business built on solid foundations so we’re able to offer hope to these people” he adds.
Purplebricks is giving its shareholders a trading update on Thursday this week but Bruce says the Emoov debacle does not damage his company’s standing as a hybrid agency.
“At Purplebricks we're confident about the future. We're growing. We're increasing market share. As reported on November 6, Purplebricks has grown H1 UK revenue by some 20 per cent in a challenging market. Our foundations are strong and everyone at Purplebricks is passionately committed to going the extra mile for our customers. That's why we get more homes sold and more sales completed, more quickly than the other 10 biggest brands."
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Yeah, let's go from one failed model to another....
Not sure how you can say purple rocks is a failed model.... perhaps you should look at their market share?
Instead of looking at a share price which is falling due to the economy and Brexit and has fallen this low before and rose becak to £4.....
All excuses from agents who are terrified they will have no job in a few years.
Idiots
“We’re doing this to help these customers because we believe in doing the right thing.”
I can’t decide whether they are delusional and believe their own excrement, or in fact they are fully aware of how disingenuous a statement this is and just don’t care. Or it could be that they are prepared to do anything out of desperation to halt their sliding share price.
Whilst I’m not a believer in the pay-first model, I have nothing against it. But I deeply, passionately despise the misleading way Purplebricks has relieved so many thousands of people of c. £1,000 without selling their home, exploiting the false hope of these vulnerable home movers.
For Michael Bruce to come out with this statement shows utter contempt to the customers whose money he’s already taken without selling. I honestly don’t know how he sleeps.
Most of their stock is overpriced rubbish anyway... welcome to it.
And this is a high street agents response.. I would suggest re advising client and working towards a result! This my friend is why you are Kelvin Benson. The high street will succeed with your attitude!
Emergency hotline? why not just patch them through from 999! honestly!
Dear customer if your feeling 'stranded' please call the Samaritans first and foremost! then put the kettle on and think is it wise to use another company exactly the same as the one that's just failed and you didn't sell through! even if they are free?
Maybe we should do a hotline for all the Purplebricks customers that have lost their money too? Not gone bust but too incompetent to sell their home. Lol.
High Street Agents if you are near an Emove client.
Call in and see them.
Reassure them you will do your best for them.
It is a shrewd move by Purple Bricks. They have to take on Emove's customers to try and save the 'pay up front' model, before it damages them in a major fashion,. at the same time appearing to be charitable. Their share price is inexorably moving in a downward direction (£1.50 at the moment) the bad will to their system is the last thing they need at this time. Brexit and the housing market aren't the problem, they aren't for us anyway.
Re Purplebricks share price...Its good Axel Springer has got deep pockets. In April and July 18 he bought
37,722,221 shares at a cost of £134,209,990 .......at todays share price of £1.4790 x 37,722,221 shares = £55,791,164 paper value.........A CURRENT PAPER LOSS OF £78,418,000....YES OVER £78 MILLION LOSS.......OUCH !! Now that's what I call an investment :) Happy Xmas everyone.....
Yeha
It's simple this model does not work. It costs a fortune for Purplebricks to gain an instruction. The LPEs are down trodden and severally underpaid for the work they do and what's expected of them. They have all been told to be available all through Christmas and the new year holiday period. They must be burning through cash at an alarming rate as they are underpinning the LPEs to prevent them from jumping ship. Staff turnover is horrendous. The US market is not anywhere near where they want it to be. Australia is likely to cease trading as that's burning a huge hole. They need to reinvent this model with drastic changes in employment and pay structure and that's only possible if they put the listing fee up.
Once Purplebricks dies we the High Street Agent will pick up the pieces.
Can't wait
A client of ours went with YOPA originally. Yes there is one in Somerset. He paid extra for them to do viewings making the total up front cost just short of a grand. Never got a single viewing. Never got a single call about a marketing strategy to encourage interest. Then why should they, they had his money. When he tried calling them for a chat he eventually discovered the Somerset Rep had left and that the Devon Rep was 'covering'.
Should've asked for his money back...
Anyway he wanted to buy one of our properties so we charged him our standard fee less what he'd paid to YOPA. Got three viewings and an offer within a week and the sale went through, including the purchase of our property which we will re-sell once renovated.
"A lesson learnt" he admitted.
I doubt Purple Tricks will endear themselves to the Receiver who's trying to sell Emoov's list and assets to compensate those who have lost money.
I have a sneaky feeling that this latest thinly veiled PR stunt is a pre-damage limitation exercise for the forthcoming release of its figures. The suspicion is further backed by the timing because if this was a genuine offer, Purple Dicks should have announced many weeks ago before Emoov clients were plundered by every estate agent and his dog.
However, those who did hang on would have to be extremely gullible to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. However, they did not join PB in the first place so it's unlikely and the brain dead boffins at PB will already have figured this one out.
Conclusion? A minimum loss for maximum free PR adverting. Doh!
What's the small print attached to this 'for free'? I suggest reading it carefully or else you may find you are tied in to using PB conveyancing, or will be charged an additional admin fee, or charged for viewings or in 10 months time will have to pay an um.....post rental fee for the for sale board? yeah that sounds good, stick that in the small print......
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