Rightmove U-turn: all customer invoices to be cut by 75% until July
Portal makes dramatic announcement to City after howls of protest from agents over its deferred payment scheme, which has now been scrapped.
Rightmove has performed a complete U-turn on its deferred payments scheme and announce that it will be refunding all its customers invoices by 75% for the next four months, the first time it has reduced its fees since being established in 2000.
The dramatic announcement was revealed to the stock market this morning, and Rightmove says it has come to the decision after listening to its customers, and witnessing a significant slowdown in the speed of the UK housing market.
“Notably the number of property transactions failing to complete in recent days and likely changes in tenant behaviour following the announcement of the renters’ protections by the government may put further pressure on estate and lettings agents,” the company says.
The decision also follows howls of protest from many estate agents groups, individuals and companies, and it is understood that its CEO Peter Brooks-Johnson (pictured) has been speaking on the phone to many leading estate agents over the past two days, and been given an ear bashing.
The 75% reduction in fees will run from April until July will be for all its customers including agency, new homes and commercial property customers.
Rightmove says this will decrease its revenues this year by up to £75 million.
“At Rightmove we are doing everything in our power to rise to the challenges of COVID-19. We have chosen to utilise our position to support our customers at this difficult time,” says Brooks-Johnson.
RM 75% off for 4 months, OTM 33% off, Zoopla free if you ditch RM for 9 months, Choices, Choices, Choices Hmmm, they need to smell the coffee and take notice from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies just released now, it can take a year before we see results. i would suggest the 3 major portals should do for free for a year. no if’s no buts.
If the interest rate can be reduced from 0.5% to 0.1% with one week so can the portals reduce to ZERO.
If we go to lockdown which could happen very very soon,
how on earth will Vendors and Landlords exercise social distancing? and how do we know who has the virus on viewings?
Time is of the essence and the whole property fraternity needs support and to take action. WAKE UP PORTALS.
The Government needs the back bone SME’s otherwise its curtains for many, and they will do everything possible. so it is times for the portals to show loyalty and goodwill.
On the 11th of February mighty Rightmove had a share price of 701p, yesterday the share price fell to 475p, a 32.6% drop, and over an 11% drop in the last week.
They always say pride comes before a fall, in this case perhaps shareholders greed comes before the interests of the agents.
Dissent and upset, and anger is now being focused on Rightmove, yes all shares are getting hit, but Countrywide, and now Rightmove are showing they are out of step with the very industry they are in – you cannot fool all of the people all of the time – and if there is a mass exodus from Rightmove, those in the c-suite maybe deserve to be reminded who pays their salaries and bonuses.
So now Rightmove reacts, pushing their chess piece across the black and white squares in what may prove to be a very bloody endgame, but as Harry Hill the elder statesman of agency and of course on the ground at the inception of Rightmove asks on a Linkedin post, ‘will the 75% discount be enough?’
Everyone knows I back agents – being one for 32 years, and in equal measure I now back proptech – setting up Proptech-PR as a body to get agents informed and modernised.
I used my 2,500 database of agency decision makers yesterday speaking directly with and contacting nearly 300 decision makers who wanted to know which way to turn. I focused them all on Rightmove – telling them to be brave and take their moment – it was about paying a fair price for a service, and it was time to break the monopoly.
Looking at Rightmove’s reaction I think they are now listening. But will agents ever trust Rightmove again?
Could the original offer from Rightmove prove to be their ‘Ratner moment’ and that by insulting their customers so badly the adverse reaction brings them down. To paraphrase “How can we charge so much? Because we think our customers are c***p.” If you don’t remember Gerald Ratner, try Google.
They haven’t done this out of the kindness of their heart as they would have you believe – they have no heart! The hundreds of membership cancellations they have received over the last couple of days have backed them into a corner and forced them to change track. I just hope that those agents that have given notice aren’t fobbed off by this, and remember that this is a mere publicity stunt and that Rightmove’s plan on charging ever increasing fees has merely been put on hold.