The founder of Owner Sellers, the free online agent removed from Rightmove last week, has hit back at claims it says were made by the portal that it put vendor contact details on For Sale boards.
Rupert Cattell, founder of Owner Sellers, said this is untrue.
In a statement he said: “This is the future for estate agency and clearly Rightmove doesn’t like it.
“We have now been audited no fewer than four times in the last 12 months by the portal, which is more than any other agent in the history of the industry.
“This latest claim, that our sale boards display our vendors’ phone numbers, is completely false.
“We protect our clients and vet every enquiry before forwarding on any details.
“Photographic evidence has been provided to support our argument, and yet they are de-listing the site for 28 days after which they will carry out an unprecedented fifth audit. This is a gross abuse of their position.”
He added: “We can only assume that Rightmove sees us as an existential threat to their business model and to that of many high street agents, and they are doing their level best to stop us from delivering a service that vendors want.
“Meanwhile it’s Rip-Off Britain once again where vendors are forced to pay agents’ commissions and are being prevented from using a free service to sell their houses.”
A spokeperson from Rightmove said: “Rightmove’s terms and conditions and membership criteria are designed to protect users, for example by ensuring that all property details appearing on Rightmove are reliable and that Agent members have actually visited those properties, and also to ensure that all members comply with relevant UK legislation.
“We conduct a diligent but fair vetting process in respect of all applicants and we would refuse membership to any business that failed to meet those criteria.
“We also vet existing members again from time to time to ensure that they continue to meet those criteria and, where that vetting process reveals that an existing member does not meet those criteria, that member’s contract is terminated.
“If a business in that position makes the changes needed to bring their operations back into compliance with our membership criteria, then it would, after a 28-day period, be permitted to become a member again.
“Rightmove applies these criteria and its vetting processes to all members in a fair and consistent way.”
Owner Sellers at the weekend was still saying on its site that it advertises on a number of portals including Rightmove and Zoopla. Its properties were still being listed on Zoopla, which says that the firm’s business model is compliant.
Isn’t it up to Rightmove who they give membership to? #sourgrapes
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This happened to mypropertyforsale a few years back now, taken off for 28 days, I had to deal with over 700 vendors asking where their property had gone, makes me want to have a drink thinking about it lol.
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I could be wrong… but wasn’t that the company that Mr Cattell and Ms Rodwell (emoveUK Ltd) were both involved with?
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Correct, I sold the company to emoveuk.
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Ahhh… I see, Mr Gillham!
Apologies – I thought you were making more of an industry observation than that of the then company owner.
Care to enlighten as to why it happened?
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They claimed I had forwarded a phone number of a vendor to a buyer, I think it was purely down to doubling my monthly fee, I had been allotted a new regional manager who didn’t like the business model I think and wanted to please the bosses.
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Sorry – since when was passing purchasers/vendors telephone numbers to each other (assuming they both agree) a ‘sin-bin’ offence?
Most times they swap them themselves!
How did RM even find out?
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