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From The Times.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/b...ying-mzgfsxcdd
Purplebricks ‘bullied review website’
Purplebricks has been accused of “corporate bullying” by the operators of a consumer review website that the online estate agent has threatened to sue.
Allagents, which lists consumers’ reviews of estate agents, said that it had taken the “unprecedented step” of suspending the Purplebricks account on its site after receiving a legal letter over negative reviews that it was hosting.
Purplebricks said it made the legal threat after an audit of 95 reviews posted on Allagents that allegedly revealed close to one in three were not genuine.
Martin McKenzie, a director of Allagents, said: “We’re really surprised and disappointed at the way Purplebricks have approached this. We have a lot of gravitas in the industry and normally any issues can be resolved amicably.”
He added that the company was “investigating” and hoped to reinstate the reviews, many of which are critical about Purplebricks, after taking legal advice. He said Allagents was certain that “the vast majority of reviews on its site are genuine”.
The disputed reviews highlight supposed deficiencies in Purplebricks’ service, including an alleged lack of customer support from the company’s “local property experts”.
Purplebricks had one of the lowest rankings of any agency on Allagents. The listed company is understood to believe that traditional estate agents are driving much of the negativity by posting fake reviews. A spokesman for Purplebricks said: “Following an audit of 95 reviews on Allagents, 29 per cent appeared to be fake while 23 per cent lacked sufficient detail to authenticate. Having followed the proper appeals process and received no response from Allagents, we followed up with a legal letter to which we still await a formal response. Purplebricks is proud of its reputation and the quality of the service that it delivers and will defend this reputation vigorously.”
Allagents said in a statement: “Due to repeated threats of legal action forcing the removal of negative reviews from our website, we have regrettably taken the unprecedented step in suspending the Purplebricks profile page until further notice.”
Mr McKenzie said he felt there was an “element of corporate bullying” to the disagreement. The small Glasgow-based company said that a large number of checks are carried out to “ensure that reviews are genuine”.
Purplebricks operates as a hybrid agent as it has no physical branches and offers online listings and a network of freelance regional estate agents.
The company apologised after an investigation by the BBC’s Watchdog programme found that it had repeated claims about the savings it offered against traditional agents that the advertising watchdog had previously ruled as misleading.
The Purplebricks spokesman added that customers should leave “their feedback” on Trustpilot, a rival reviews site, “rather than other sites whose procedures appear less robust”.
There have been concerns in the industry about the validity of positive reviews of Purplebricks published on Trustpilot. Last week, Trustpilot said: “Our investigations of Purplebricks haven’t identified any behaviour that contravenes our guidelines.”
Purplebricks has been accused of “corporate bullying” by the operators of a consumer review website that the online estate agent has threatened to sue.
Allagents, which lists consumers’ reviews of estate agents, said that it had taken the “unprecedented step” of suspending the Purplebricks account on its site after receiving a legal letter over negative reviews that it was hosting.
Purplebricks said it made the legal threat after an audit of 95 reviews posted on Allagents that allegedly revealed close to one in three were not genuine.
Martin McKenzie, a director of Allagents, said: “We’re really surprised and disappointed at the way Purplebricks have approached this. We have a lot of gravitas in the industry and normally any issues can be resolved amicably.”
He added that the company was “investigating” and hoped to reinstate the reviews, many of which are critical about Purplebricks, after taking legal advice. He said Allagents was certain that “the vast majority of reviews on its site are genuine”.
The disputed reviews highlight supposed deficiencies in Purplebricks’ service, including an alleged lack of customer support from the company’s “local property experts”.
Purplebricks had one of the lowest rankings of any agency on Allagents. The listed company is understood to believe that traditional estate agents are driving much of the negativity by posting fake reviews. A spokesman for Purplebricks said: “Following an audit of 95 reviews on Allagents, 29 per cent appeared to be fake while 23 per cent lacked sufficient detail to authenticate. Having followed the proper appeals process and received no response from Allagents, we followed up with a legal letter to which we still await a formal response. Purplebricks is proud of its reputation and the quality of the service that it delivers and will defend this reputation vigorously.”
Allagents said in a statement: “Due to repeated threats of legal action forcing the removal of negative reviews from our website, we have regrettably taken the unprecedented step in suspending the Purplebricks profile page until further notice.”
Mr McKenzie said he felt there was an “element of corporate bullying” to the disagreement. The small Glasgow-based company said that a large number of checks are carried out to “ensure that reviews are genuine”.
Purplebricks operates as a hybrid agent as it has no physical branches and offers online listings and a network of freelance regional estate agents.
The company apologised after an investigation by the BBC’s Watchdog programme found that it had repeated claims about the savings it offered against traditional agents that the advertising watchdog had previously ruled as misleading.
The Purplebricks spokesman added that customers should leave “their feedback” on Trustpilot, a rival reviews site, “rather than other sites whose procedures appear less robust”.
There have been concerns in the industry about the validity of positive reviews of Purplebricks published on Trustpilot. Last week, Trustpilot said: “Our investigations of Purplebricks haven’t identified any behaviour that contravenes our guidelines.”
