Purplebricks has mystery shopped over 280 letting agencies across UK

I mystery shopped Purple Bricks and had my house valued. Their local property expert lived 30 miles away. You couldn't make it up!

Are Purple Bricks paying for these free adverts?

• Ben Par
• 16 May 2017 11:07 AM

free?

• Login to like comment
• 0
• Login to Report

 

A rather desperate article.

I mystery shopped purple bricks...I might be bias but he was late with no call, he gave me his pitch and didn't even mention what the value of my home might be...and there was no follow up. I would change property expert to 'order taker' for sure.

Can I have some space to write an article please?

I also mystery shopped Purple bricks and got the LOCAL expert value my house he was from 60 miles away and had never been to my town before. In my town I can get a local agent for £500 plus vat, so there is no need to have PB in our area. The only thing they have on the High street is they are cheaper but when this is eroded what do you have? Another cheap way to put your property on the portals. It doesn't work when the market begins to get tougher. PB carry on as you are because I don't have any issue with your model as its flawed, but they know this and will sell up before the bubble bursts and leave it to the real experts who have seen it through good and bad times and will be in 20 years time. I doubt PB will be without a massive model change.

So I can actually give factual evidence on this as the best test on PB was... I rented a property through them, yes my market research on a competitor has no boundaries.
The registering and booking viewings was great, it was so easy and smooth. I booked my viewing direct with the landlord which did make me feel a bit iffy as it's their home.
I made an offer online and chased to see when it would be accepted. This I hated as no personal contact at all. Felt a bit weird constantly refreshing my emails in the hope it was done. Wanted a person to get in touch and talk to me but no one did. I called my local expert, he was in the pub, wetting the baby's head with his friends and said he doesn't do lettings call headoffice
Right to rent was done, online!! Yes my partners passport was emailed to their referencing company, . I refused to give mine and guess what they still passed me, said to the landlord he's salary is great so just go with him. Thanks PB 😂
I called up one day, they thought I was the landlord and told me everything about me, no security checks. The landlord called and they thought she was my other half. Which is when we discovered the comments about just go with him..
We both complained.
The landlord was not told about the deposit process, she did not know about the gas safety, nor was she aware of the inventory process, it was the first time she rented a property. PB didn't educate her. Luck for her I sorted it, if not well I would be a very happy tenant suing the landlord. So I wrote to PB.
Anyone from PB reads this and wants to defend it, please type my name into your software. Read the complaint and then accept that the above is true.

But credit where its due, they were worth £250m, today thats now £784.7m nice work PB

Why don't 280 estate agents mystery shop Purple Bricks? I'm sure they would get fed up of wasting their time but in fairness they have wasted the time of 280 other agents. Where we are having an issue with them is when we need info on a chain, they do not have the faintest idea what they are doing and often going sold whereas it is shaky at best.