EA won’t sell if buyer uses Purple Bricks

Stan29101

Hi there. First post on here but just after some advice. I have had several house valuations and as to be expected, the purple bricks standard £849 was by far the cheapest. Other agencies have a very negative view of them and state they have no after care service and once you have a buyer you get no further support (probably the case with a lot of EAs not just online ones...). One company has said very clearly that if a someone sells with purple bricks, they won’t let them buy a house on their books. (And stated this is direct from the company owner with the quote ‘if they don’t like it then sue me’. My question is, is this legal? I know it’s a little unethical but I feel pushed into a corner as most houses in the area I want to move to are being sold by this company. So if I use purple bricks to sell I won’t be able to buy from them. Any advice welcomed. Oh and they charge roughly £1000 more than purple bricks (but this is at the point of selling not upfront as with purple bricks, and with assisted viewings which is a further £300 from purple bricks if required). Many thanks.

ThePants999

When you find a property you'd like to buy that that agent is selling, pop a note through the door explaining that you want to put an offer in but the agent they're paying huge commission to is refusing to engage with you because they don't like your choice of selling agent. See how long that position lasts when it's their own paying customers pressuring them to change it.

Brock_and_Roll

They just cant help themselves can they!!!


I have always stuck by the first law of dealing with EAs - presume everything they say is untrue unless you have evidence to the contrary!


As per the previous post, if you like a house and the EA wont pass on your offer a) they are quite possibly breaking the law in not passing on any offer b) pop a note through the sellers door and watch the EA eat humble pie a day or two later!

Gwendo40

It's always nice to examples of EA's panicking/worrying/tantrum throwing... wait until the Lettings Fees ban gets introduced, then the dummy spitting will really start!

PurplebricksUK

Good evening!

I am sorry to hear that this is the case, if there is anything I can do to help then please do not hesitate to get in touch. I can assure you that we do have a Post Sales Support team that help to support your journey once you have accepted an offer on your property.

If I can answer any concerns, or help in anyway please do not hesitate to message me and I would be delighted to assist in anyway that I can.

Have a great evening!

Debbie

victoriavictorious

Of course it's ludicrous and I agree with the good advice to put a note through the vendor's door if you should be refused a viewing. Being denied viewings would be totally unacceptable and I'm sure vendors would take a dim view of it.
However, I can almost see where these agents are coming from, as PB can be a nightmare to deal with, as by all accounts can their affiliated conveyancers (who anecdotally you will be tied to if you selected the 'pay later' option.)
You might be inadvertently setting up your future buyers for endless "fun & games" when they try to book viewings through PB.
Just do a search for some threads on there - then please do yourself a favour and choose someone else.
PB is not the only online agent, nor is it the cheapest anyway.
Positive personal experience with House Network (£795, so cheaper than PB.) There are also others, such as Hatched or emoov.

Slinky

The note through the door is only going to work if there's somebody living in the house....

Doozergirl

It's solicitors that deal with a sale once it's been agreed. Whilst some agents add a bit of value chasing up and down chains, many do not at all. It's ridiculous to say that they won't sell a house to someone using purple bricks.

Even if they are a bit rubbish, it's not actually their job to progress a sale and I think that 90% of agents make virtually no difference once sales are agreed anyway, so they'd have plenty of company.

steampowered

The estate agent doesn't decide which offer to accept. Their client does! And I doubt the client will care you are using pruplebricks to sell.

An estate agent who refuses to pass on offers will be in breach of law, and likely in breach of the Code of Practice of their Ombudsman.

Whether you can effectively enforce that is another matter ... a note through the seller's door is a good idea.

diggingdude

Go on....name and shame

Nicosy

steampowered wrote: »

An estate agent who refuses to pass on offers will be in breach of law, and likely in breach of the Code of Practice of their Ombudsman.

Whether you can effectively enforce that is another matter ... a note through the seller's door is a good idea.

PurpleBricks have an even bigger interest than you in punishing this sort of illegal activity. Now they've fortuitously decided to join the thread why not ask them to lead the legal process? One publicised case will be enough to scare off other EAs from the doing the same. A great little investment opportunity you're presenting to PB, maybe they should waive the fees they are charging you in exchange!