One online agent reported another to the Advertising Standards Authority over claims it was making.
Russell Quirk’s firm eMoov challenged whether the following claims on HouseSimple’s website were misleading and could be substantiated:
- “£22 Million UK customer savings” and “By the end of this year we will have saved our clients around £22million in fees”;
- “Sell faster. 20 days versus 68 days with high street agents”; and
- “An average £5,077 Customer Saving”; “UK vendor savings … £5,077 Saving!”; “London vendor savings … £15,664 Saving!”; Landlord savings … Tenant Find … £2,132 Saving!”; and “Fully Managed … £2,722 Saving!”
A spokesperson for the ASA said: “The advertiser agreed to amend/remove the claims so they weren’t making direct comparisons.
“They also agreed to use our copy advice service to see if/how they could make a cumulative claim based on the evidence they had.”
Comments (17)
Would whoever is reading this for Mr Quirk tell him (however gently you think you need to break it to him…) that some people might well suggest he’s been made to look a proper numpty. Again.
Shame, really – if he’d complained about the antics of certain other Call-Centre Agencies those same people might have actually applauded him.
He will know better in future, perhaps.
But I’ll not bet on it.
Soon, the onliners will have the bright idea of using DEA’s as valuers…. Oh wait a minute….
Its all going to end in tears for on-liners. How long have they been at it and not made a dent in the industry. They tried to sell the low budget to customers who haven’t flocked to them, all they have done is made no money and as for PB well we all know that is soon to come crashing down as their expenditure to get to where they are far exceeds in the income generated but do the directors care … they get fat cat salaries…….. enjoy it while you can boys, your days are numbered, it is starting to sink in with the public and markets of what your game is.
My bet is by the end of the year emove will either have been sold or will be merged.
PB has well and truly taken the wind out of their sails (could even say sales!) they will find it near on impossible in my opinion trying to raise more money.
The whole concept of emove was to dominate the “Online” agents model and in turn dominate the estate agency industry.
Investors were keen to take a punt when they were the only real online national model, Now PB have come along and beaten Quirky to floating and have taken far more stock on than him the investors will not want to throw good money after bad.
He is now trying to get involved with silly squabbles to keep his companies name relevant, Also with the added pressure of portal juggling being exposed and starting to be taken seriously its harder to bluff the public.
Couple this with lower stock levels and a tougher market,i think we can finally start to see the end of these cheap, online listers.
If your USP is cheapness and claimed savings it’s bound to be a bit galling that someone else nicks your best lines. There’s nowhere to go.
All the big talk about projections yadda yadda yadda, all the vexatious antagonism and suddenly someone else is pinching your market share, someone else is portraying the cheap/savings bit in a more professional and credible way to a wider and more targeted audience and all of a sudden you’re left as a simply a vexatious antagonist with a boot load of confident but broken promises.
Would this be the same Emoov that was basing its savings to sellers on an average estate agents fee of 1.6% plus vat?
BTW the reference point for the 1.6% was a 10 year old report for the whole country (not the county he specifically referred to as the saving being made in) and it made it quite clear that the 1.6% was quoted fees and actual fees paid were 1.45%.
Lies, damned lies and statistics. Disraeli I believe. Oh, delete the statistics in this case.
So eMoove complain and now HouseSimple are showing a bigger saving (£5594 on their web site today) and a slightly longer sales time of 25 days. Russell should really hand his gun in as he is forever shooting himself in the foot.
Now I’m not big on accurate predictions, never saw the credit crunch coming, never saw the first Mrs Jonnie going but if someone cleverer than me could dig out some links to historic articles I’m sure I predicted the budget boys getting in a lather about 2 things;
1 – Race to the floor on fees….looks like I nailed this with a quid a month splattering into the online world
2 – Fighting like rats in a bag……yup, I got this right too, eating money quicker than they could pour it out of a dumper truck with market share static and now turning on each other.
Next up they will be moving their ‘local experts’ into ‘ customer experience centres’ or some guffy named thing that the rest of us call a ‘branch’
Jonnie
Ahhh, Jonnie!
You’ve bin such a miss, bonny lad!
Please don’t stay away so long in future.
Lord only knows how you got a dislike for that…..and the like baffles me just as much! – good to be back Peebee (/ PIE Dad)
Jonnie
I could just as easily get a handful of ‘Dislikes’ by posting ‘AWWWWW‘ pictures of cute ickle kittens lapping a bowl of milky-wilky, Jonnie.
The Z-Team (aka my Loyal Plank) have been given the task on their To Do list.
I love it when F1 shows commentary of those scrapping it out for their first point of the season in the constructors’ championship; tinged with a bit pathetic but proper wheel to wheel stuff. Gripping!
‘Honey… the children are squabbling again…’
Pot and kettle spring to mind!
#beatentoit
Memo to self – check EYE before evidencing potential illegal/unfair listing activities…
How about the Cow (emoove) calling Simon (AKA simple Simon) a steak hache. (French minced steak)
Or #competebunchoftwats