Purplebricks staff angry over handling of Premier Property Lawyers mess – claim

Whistleblower says staff have told not to escalate client complaints about conveyancing problems caused by conveyancing partner's IT meltdown.

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A Purplebricks sales progressor says that they and many other frontline staff have been left to fend for themselves by management as customers have begun contacting them about problems created by the Premier Property Lawyers/Simplify IT hack.

The agent, who wishes to remain anonymous in case they lose their job for being a whistle blower, says the past seven weeks have been ‘hell’ since the problems at the Simplify, which operates Premier Property Lawyers (PPL), were revealed.

PPL is one of the preferred conveyancing partners that Purplebricks recommends to home movers.

The agents says hundreds of distressed buyers and vendors have been in touch as deals have collapsed or been delayed, with some becoming verbally abusive.

“I just want people within and outside the industry to understand that my managers have been reluctant to take calls about PPL-generated issues, and we recently received an internal memo telling us that the problems at Simplify were nothing to do with us,” the agent says.

“But given we get £400 for every customer we pass to PPL, I think we should be helping these people out.”

The Purplebricks agent says that, when they worked at a traditional agency before joining Purplebricks, it would have been ‘all hands on deck’ to try and sort the problems out rather than leaving customers to sort it out themselves.

Shame

“I think it is a shame that we are taking this approach and it needs to be called out particularly as our CEO Vic Darvey is nowhere to be seen on the issue,” the agent adds.

The Negotiator contacted Purplebricks for comment. Its spokesperson says: “We’re constantly updating our teams and supporting them to help customers affected by this issue.

“We are working closely with our partner Simplify for updates on their progress – and are in the same position as all other agents that use them.”

Two weeks ago MPs called for an official investigation into the Simplify IT hack.


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