Purple Bricks - Paying their fee if no Sale?

abukco

Hi,

I have had my flat on the market with Purple Bricks for nearly 10 months with no sale and I'm nearing the end of my contract. 

I have received an email from them today informing me that they will be taking £1499 from my account in 26th June for payment.

In the 8.5 months I have had it on the market I have only received one offer, which was 30k under the asking price (I had already dropped the price 15k), which I turned down, expressing I wished to stick to the asking price. I then had no response from the buyer.

My question is, will this late offer and the 11th hour now mean I am not eligible to not have to pay their fee of £1499. If so, how do I know it's a genuine offer and not a ringer that Purple Bricks send out to make sure they get their fee?

I may be being paranoid but so many cons out there and I read Purple Bricks are in trouble as not making enough money.

Flugelhorn

what circumstances would they not charge the fee?

K_S

Flugelhorn said:

what circumstances would they not charge the fee?

I'm sure the T&Cs have more detail but this is the blurb for the 'money-back guarantee'. I'm assuming that this is what the OP is referring to.

peter3hg

You will need to check the exact T&Cs but their website states that:

"The Money Back Guarantee of our fixed fee is redeemable if no qualifying offer is made within 10 months. Qualifying offers are 90% of the property valuation provided. EPC and conveyancing fees are excluded."

Based on that I would say they are entitled to their fee if the original valuation was £450k or higher.
If it was lower than that then the offer was less than 90% of the original valuation and so you are entitled to the fee back.
You do need to check the T&Cs for the precise terms though.


Edit: There are quite a lot of exclusions so check it carefully. You seem to have to actively apply for the guarantee to apply, it isn't automatic.

When you will be entitled to a refund of your Core Product Service Fee and how to obtain it

• Provided that all of the terms and conditions set out in this section are satisfied at the time you make a request for a refund, we will refund your Core Product Service Fee or (if you have taken up Pay later with conveyancing) it will not be payable by you if you have not received a Proceedable Credible Offer for your property within 10 months of the date we enter into this Service Agreement.

• You must make a request for a refund of your Core Product Service Fee within 28 days of the date falling ten months after the date of this Service Agreement. You can make a request by emailing us at enquiries@purplebricks.com and providing details of your property. You will not be entitled to any refund of your Core Product Service Fee under this Service Agreement if we receive your request after this time. Refunds will be made to the same payment instrument (such as a debit card or credit card) used by you to pay the Product Service Fee(s).

• You must have paid in full for any Extras before making a request for a refund, or requesting not to pay the Core Product Service Fee (where you have taken up the Conveyancing Liaison Service).

https://www.purplebricks.co.uk/money-back-guarantee

abukco

Hi,

I originally put my flat on for 370k, which their estate agent agreed to and have reduced it to 355k. I then had this offer of 325k a few weeks ago, which I turned down saying I'd like to stick to sale price but would reduce to 352k

eddddy

abukco said:

Hi,

I originally put my flat on for 370k, which their estate agent agreed to and have reduced it to 355k. I then had this offer of 325k a few weeks ago, which I turned down saying I'd like to stick to sale price but would reduce to 352k

Their t&cs say:

‘Proceedable Credible Offer’ means in England, Wales and Northern Ireland an offer in excess of 90% of the valuation price provided by Purplebricks and where the prospective buyer passes our required checks, including Anti Money Laundering, provision of valid proof of funds and source of funds.

So what was "the valuation price provided by Purplebricks"? Presumably you have this figure in writing somewhere.

Was it £370k?

Or, for example, was a new "valuation price provided by Purplebricks" when you reduced the price to £355k.


And did "the prospective buyer pass our required checks, including Anti Money Laundering, provision of valid proof of funds and source of funds"?   It seems unlikely, if you refused their offer.

GDB2222

Essentially, the question is whether the "valuation " was more than £361,111?