Agent slams Rightmove for ‘daylight robbery’ after setting up fees petition
Shaun Adams of Cooper Adams tells The Neg he is calling for an investigation into the portal's charging policies after facing an 18% hike.
Independent estate agent Shaun Adams has accused Rightmove of “bullying” and “daylight robbery” over its latest fee increases.
Adams has set up a petition calling for an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the portal’s charging policies.
The petition has already collected hundreds of signatures and Adams hopes the CMA will sit up and take notice.
Hit hard
As co-founder of the three-branch Cooper Adams agency in West Sussex, he has seen how agents have been hit hard in the last few years.
Speaking to The Neg, he said: “Inflation has risen, and National Insurance increases are hitting agents hard. Rising wage costs are adding further pressure, and many businesses are saying they have to let people go.”
It is another nail in the coffin for some agents.”
Now Rightmove is increasing its fees by 18%, he says, “to silly amounts” and it’s “unethical”.
“It is another nail in the coffin for some agents. If inflation has gone up by 2.5%, then 5% would be fair, but 18% is daylight robbery.”
Adams says Rightmove does a good job, describing the portal as “reliable and very consistent”, but the pricing structure favours the big agency chains who can negotiate a discount for their agents.
Bullying
He slams the “bullying ways it [Rightmove] treats independent agents”.
Rightmove offered to meet Adams to discuss his fees, but he says there is no point unless they are prepared to talk about the charging hike.
The Neg has approached Rightmove for comment.
You can sign the petition here
Very opportune for us at the moment – we cxld our contract last year to end as of 1st Jan 25 we managed a month and saved £2600 for Jan, but due to SOME OF our clients switching agents due to not being on RMove. Much to my disgust I caved in and agreed for our Sales Director to agree to a 6 month contract at basic level only then we were sent an invoice for over double that for nov and dec of last year which had already been paid by dd on 1st of each month and reset up a DD for both! Hence making us seriously overdrawn – which we never are!. Having wasted more and more of my time with trying to sort their errors I am at my wits end – I just wish all agents would cease using them for good – they are the worst company I have ever had the misfortune of having to deal with in all my working life both in corporate and financial markets before becoming an estate agent.
link to the petition ?
Thanks for the suggestion James – petition link added now, see above
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I can’t see Cooper Adams on OnTheMarket.
Get rid of their stupid bolt on’s..that’s where they make their money. If every agent had the brains to dump the bolt on’s they’d soon panic. The CMA should have taken action years ago.