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Latest property news
Two high-profile agents investigated by Advertising Standards Authority
Hybrid agency YOPA and London agency Marsh & Parsons have crossed swords with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week after promotional material they had produced were objected to by members of the public. YOPA was reported to the watchdog about a data table published on its website. It featured comparisons of different estate agents including their number of properties for sale and average listing age. Two complainants, who said the comparisons were based on YOPA’s national figures against their competitors’ local one, challenged whether the comparison was misleading “We raised these concerns with the advertiser,” the ASA says. “YOPA confirmed that the ad had been removed and that they would not compare their national data with competitor’s local data.” Advertising Standards Authority A direct mailing by Marsh & Parsons, which is owned by LSL, was referred to the ASA after a letter addressed to a complainant offered to rent out their property because “we couldn’t help but notice that your property is currently on the market for lettings”. “I’d love to meet you and let you know how Marsh & Parsons… can expose your property to the widest range of tenants,” the letter went on. The only trouble was…
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Advertising watchdog says Purplebricks LPEs ARE ‘local’ and ‘expert’
Four complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that Purplebricks LPEs are neither ‘local’ nor ‘expert’ has been rejected by the watchdog. The complainants, who included Plymouth Trading Standards, property consultant Alexander Dawson and Chris Wood’s PDQ Estates, said calling Purplebricks’ agents ‘local’ and ‘expert’ – as featured on the company’s ‘meet our experts’ section – was misleading and could not be substantiated. During the ASA investigation, Purplebricks said ‘local’ referred to their agent’s local knowledge instead of their geographical location, and that they ensured each LPE had relevant knowledge of their patch. Purplebricks also told the ASA that its LPEs offer an “equivalent service to traditional estate agents” including doing valuations and preparing property listings, although it said there was no ‘set radius’ each of its LPEs covers, and that coverage depends on the sales volumes of the area. The company also said Purplebricks LPEs have “strong knowledge of the local property market” and “strong valuation experience” and that agents on average have between five and ten years’ experience working in the industry before joining Purplebricks. But they don’t have to be qualified – LPEs can join Purplebricks without any qualifications but must pass all National Association of Estate…
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Barratt promises not to repeat ‘Stamp Duty paid’ claims
Developer Barratt London, which trades as BDW Trading Ltd, has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority for an email it sent out to potential buyers. One of the recipients complained to the watchdog about claims made within the email that buyers could “secure your Zone 1 apartment with Stamp Duty Paid”. But the claim made appeared to be less generous than the email suggested and the member of the public challenged whether the claim was misleading. This was because it implied that all the Stamp Duty due would be paid by Barratt when in fact only Stamp Duty up to 3% would be paid. Therefore, because of the cost of the properties, this meant none of the apartments within the development would have all the stamp duty paid. On the Barratt website it states that Barratt “may be able to pay the Stamp Duty for you up to a maximum of 4% of the purchase price of your new Barratt Home”. But the duty is levied at 5% for properties between £250,000 and £925,000, and at 10% between £925,000 and £1.5 million. So for example at Barratt London’s luxury Landmark Place overlooking Tower Bridge within Zone 1 of the…
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Can Purplebricks ever make ‘fees saved’ comparisons again?
A complaint by West Sussex estate agent Arun Estates to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about nine ‘fees saved’ testimonials still currently featured on the Purplebricks website has been upheld. The decision goes to the core of the debate around Purplebricks, which many traditional agents believe often compares itself inaccurately with its high street competitors because its ‘fees saved’ claims don’t reflect the different service levels offered by high street and online agents. The ASA complaint refers to testimonials seen last summer – and still live on the Purplebricks site – in which the company claims its customers have made significant savings by using its services than compared to traditional agents, based on an average fee of 1.8%. Purplebricks told the ASA that it was “very difficult” to find out what agents charged their clients and that it varied a lot from area to area, but that they had conducted a customer survey among 2,308 respondents instead. Average commission It discovered that the average commission in the UK is 1.5%, to which they added 0.3% VAT, and also told the ASA that other organisations including Citizens Advice Bureau and YourMoney.com pointed to a similar figure. But the ASA says it…
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Purplebricks takes down website claims after ASA probe
Purplebricks has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) once more for claims made on its website and, following a probe by the watchdog, subsequently taken down. The claims under scrutiny on this occasion are that it “takes us just 14 days to find a buyer” but, after the complainant clicked an icon next to the claim, it clarified that “the average time taken from a property going live to a viewing being booked for the eventual purchaser is 14 days”. A similar claim made for the Purplebricks’ lettings operation was also contested by the complainant. Using an identical device, the company said: “6 days – on average it takes us just 6 days to find a tenant”. Upon clicking an icon next to this text the following text appeared in a pop up: “The average time taken from a property going live to a viewing being booked for the eventual tenant is 6 days.” Misleading? The ASA says the complainant suggested that both claims were misleading and could be substantiated and, after the ASA contacted Purplebricks, the company agreed to remove the claims and the case was resolved informally. This is now the fourth complaint received against Purplebricks since September 2016.…
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Martyn Gerrard laments “overreaction” to ad that ASA wants taken down
An estate agency asked to remove a poster advert from an Underground Station in north London by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following a complaint from the public has hit out against the decision. David Smith (pictured, below), who is Marketing and Compliance Director at 14-branch Martyn Gerrard, says that although in the “strict interpretation of the rules” the ASA code means the complainant is technically correct, he wonders is this is “really the sort of image they had in mind when they devised their rules? I very much doubt it”. “We were quite surprised to receive the letter from the ASA,” he told The Negotiator. “This particular advert was on an underground station platform and had been up for over a year.” The ASA rules say an advert can’t condone or encourage an unsafe practice or show anything that will result in physical, mental or moral harm. The ASA wrote via email to Martyn Gerrard on 10th March and in his reply to them David agreed to take the advert down, as we reported yesterday, but highlighted his disappointment with the request. He wondered if the complaint may have come from a “vexatious competitor agent” rather than a concerned…
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High profile agent withdraws London Underground ad after complaint
Sales and letting agent Martyn Gerrard has withdrawn a London Underground poster ad after a complaint from a member of the public. The ad, pictured below, which to some people might seem like a feel-good and innocent piece of advertising creative, featured two children – a boy at the top of a flight of stairs and a girl sliding down the stairs in a washing basket while wearing a cycling helmet and swimming goggles. The strapline for the advert was “oMG…that was a good move…Making your next big move more enjoyable”. The north London agent, which has 14 branches and was established in 1964, re-branded recently and has been advertising in the capital to support this with a series of ads featuring goggle-wearing children enjoying ‘good moves’ – including a girl clutching a toy rocket. But the latest one clearly didn’t amuse one member of the public. Complaint They complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the poster ad was likely to “condone or encourage children to copy an unsafe practice and whether the ad was also likely to be responsible”. “We contacted the advertiser about the concerns raised and they agreed to remove the ad from circulation,” an…
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Agent agrees to withdraw ‘knocking copy’ ad after ASA investigation
An agent in Andover, Hampshire has been investigated by the advertising watchdog the ASA for making competitor comparisons within a flyer. Bournes Town & Country, which has two branches in and around Andover, circulated a flyer featuring a picture of a house previously marketed by a competitor, Austin Hawk, that Bournes Town & Country had subsequently sold. The text on the flyer compared the listings of the two firms, one saying “3 viewings no sale time wasted” while the other “12 viewings sold STC success”. Additional text then said “originally advertised with your agent then swapped to Bournes”, suggesting the flyers were circulated to homes marketed by Austin Hawk at the time. The complainant about the flyer said there were a variety of factors which could impact on whether a house sold or not and challenged wither the comparison in the ad was misleading. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) contacted Bournes Town & Country about the complaint and it “agreed not to make competitor comparisons which included details that customers cannot independently verify in the future”, the watchdog said. It also said it had “received assurance from the advertiser they would make their future advertising compliant with the advertising rules”. The…
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Why did Northwood withdraw circular that used commonly-used Rightmove data?
Franchise network agent Northwood GB, which was acquired by rival Belvoir in June last year, has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making an unsubstantiated claim in a circular it distributed to clients, even though the information is widely available elsewhere. Northwood had stated within it: “Did you know that between Christmas Day and 1st working day in January last year Rightmove had a 195% increase in their visits to their website”. The complainant challenged whether this claim could be substantiated and, after the ASA contacted Northwood, was told the circular had been withdrawn and the matter was resolved informally. Links to the circular on the company’s Facebook page have also been taken down. “We told them to ensure in future, they held robust substantiation information for any claims made in their advertising,” the ASA said. Northwood’s reluctance to substantiate the claim is odd, given that the ‘195% increase’ statistic has been repeated in several local newspapers including the Hampshire Chronicle, and is therefore likely to have been based on a Rightmove press release. Also, Northwood is not the only agent in the UK to have repeated the ‘195% increase in visits’ claim. Hamptons International (see left)…
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