Two property listings by the same agent on Rightmove have been the subject of complaints upheld by the advertising watchdog.
Homewise, based in Worthing, Sussex, specialises in selling homes at up to 40% discounts to the over ’60s.
It advertised one property’s open day on Rightmove.
The listing was headed “£234,000 Guide Price”.
The text state: “Price reduced for the over 60’s under a Home for Life Plan”.
It said that alternatively, the property could be purchased without a Home for Life Plan.
The complainant said the advert was misleading, because the property would be considerably more expensive than £234,000 if bought not using the Home for Life scheme.
The second listing on Rightmove also quoted a guide price of £234,000. A second complainant challenged whether this was misleading because the property would be significantly more expensive for him, as he was only just over 60.
Homewise told the Advertising Standards Authority that the first advert contained a formatting error.
Had the advert been formatted properly, there would have been text at the bottom saying: “Alternatively this property can be purchased without a Home for Life Plan at the full asking price of £x [from another agent”.
Homewise explained that it could only sell the property through the Home for Life Plan to the over-60s but felt that this had been made clear.
In the second case, Homewise said that under the Home for Life scheme, the price of the property depended on a person’s age, circumstances and property criteria.
The price would be more for someone of 62 than for someone aged 75. The price it quoted reflected a mid range price and the advert did state: “Call for your personal quote”.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld both complaints.
It said that a general search of properties on Rightmove listed all homes, including retirement properties. Although retirement properties could be filtered out, the ASA said most consumers would interpret ‘guide price’ to mean an approximate price based on market value.
In the case of the second advert, the ASA said it did not sufficiently explain that the price could be higher or lower depending on age.
These type of companies never sit well with me, in my opinion they are taking advantage of pensioners. My experience with the type of individuals that work for these firm are failed estate agents not good enough to work in the industry so now targeting the more vulnerable. Well done ASA clamping down on them.
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I’d love to see the HUGE paragraph that the ASA will now insist sits at the top of the listing on RM or equivalent that no-one is ever going to read.
I work in an Arun Estates area and every single Cubitt & West listing seems to go on with Homewise at the same time – even (sometimes) upstairs flats with no lifts!
It is a service that people are using. I am also seeing a huge increase in the amount of equity release in general.
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These are like spam listings on Rightmove which skew figures and confuse buyers. Why not just have homewise figures in the main listing? Next they will be selling timeshares on Rightmove.
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There is a large corporate in my town, the largest agent in Kent who won’t be difficult for non-locals to work out if they wish, who list 75% of their stock with Homewise. Their phones in the office must ring off the hook with buyers who are then left disappointed. Serves little to no purpose for anyone.
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Never sell to Homewise they are bullys, they work with another lot of bullys Ward & Partners Cubitt & West Douglas Allen Pittis Rooney & Co.
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