Househop has this all been a scam

Vikingfan

Here is an email I have just received,it make me wonder are these people just scammers and whats to say the company they recommend is not a scam.

It is with great regret and with sincere apologies that I write to inform you that House Hop has been forced to cease trading effective immediately.

With revenues falling we have done our absolute best to keep going, but we have been unable to secure the additional financing needed for us to continue operating.

I realise that this means we are letting you down as we will be unable to carry on marketing your property. We have been in contact with other online agents to try and find one who can take on our listings so that you continue to be looked after.

Very kindly, emoov.co.uk have offered to take on our listings. Emoov are the country’s leading online estate agent with over 900 properties on their books, a well established team and a good track record of sales success.

They can’t take on the listings for free not least because of the high portal costs charged by Rightmove and the other major portals. However, they have offered to list them for £99 plus vat, which is a huge discount compared to their normal charge of £395 plus vat.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer please reply to this email and let me know. We can arrange for your listing details to be sent across to Emoov. I wish that House Hop was in a position to pay this fee on your behalf, but it’s precisely because the company no longer has any funds or access to further financing that it has had to cease trading.

Again, I know it probably sounds rather hollow, but my most sincere apologies for this situation. It is horrible to have to break this news and very sad for us to have to stop working with you

Vikingfan

Will there be any refunds I listed my house with them back in November, what rights do I have

giraffe69

I guess the same rights as someone with gift vouchers for HMV. If the firm has gone bust why is this a scam? Unfortunate but hardly the first firm in this position.

ACG

Youve had atleast a month or 2 out of it.

Not ideal but its not like they took your money and didnt list the property at all.

I dont think its a scam just unfortunate they can no longer operate.

Vikingfan

giraffe69 wrote: »

I guess the same rights as someone with gift vouchers for HMV. If the firm has gone bust why is this a scam? Unfortunate but hardly the first firm in this position.

i I see what you mean but I'm sure these people know they are in financial trouble and still take the money.But its hardly comparable to £10-50 voucher for Hmv

Vikingfan

ACG wrote: »

Youve had atleast a month or 2 out of it.

Not ideal but its not like they took your money and didnt list the property at all.

I dont think its a scam just unfortunate they can no longer operate.

The package I paid for stated that I was getting a 12 month listing with rightmove , therefore they should have paid rightmove for 12 months listing upfront

googler

Vikingfan wrote: »

i I see what you mean but I'm sure these people know they are in financial trouble and still take the money. But its hardly comparable to £10-50 voucher for Hmv

So.... what should they do if the signs are looking bad? Put a sign in the window that says "Don't come to us. We've got cash-flow problems. Take your business to XYZ down the street." ...???

Why isn't their situation comparable with HMV or Jessops?

Would you seriously suggest that HMV should have removed items like vouchers from sale before they called in the administrators?

googler

Vikingfan wrote: »

The package I paid for stated that I was getting a 12 month listing with rightmove , therefore they should have paid rightmove for 12 months listing upfront

Yes, but the firm you agreed this with is ceasing trading. How can Rightmove keep their listings on when the EA has ceased trading?

Looking at Househop's website, the company address is clearly stated. Have you tried asking them for some or all of your money back?

malcolmffc

You took a punt on a small, little known company. In this case the gamble didn't work out and you've lost your money. That isn't a scam, it's capitalism.

ACG

Vikingfan wrote: »

The package I paid for stated that I was getting a 12 month listing with rightmove , therefore they should have paid rightmove for 12 months listing upfront

Why should they? Im paying for virgin media, i dont pay it annually. They may have decided to do it monthly for cash flow purposes or they may have refunded some of it back to you if you had sold the property in 3 months - something which they wouldnt have been able to do if they had paid annually.

Theyve gone under, report it to trading standards if you wish but if theres no money in the pot you wont be getting anything back. See if there are any administrators, you can register as a creditor.

Bon33

I am in the same boat as you Viking. We put our property on with Househop in November 2012. We paid £780 for just shy of 3 months it looks like . The email I got wasn't even titled!

I have spoken to EMOOV this morning to see if them taking on Househops client list is true and they said it is. They also said that this would cover the listing on rightmove, calls etc....when I mentioned the new board they said it would cost extra

If you paid by Credit Card or Debit Card you may be able to get some money back as you may be protected. I did a bank transfer from my HSBC account to their HSBC account so have no chance of getting my money back.

I feel like crying.

Bon