No sooner do we run a story on a new online agent offering a £99 package than just days later along comes another – under-cutting it with a £25 deal.
Daniel Thomas Estates yesterday tweeted the offer for May as a “£25 Zoopla listing offer”. Zoopla yesterday evening told EYE it was investigating after we drew its attention to the offer.
The agent is based in Coventry.
On Zoopla yesterday its description read: “Daniel Thomas Estate Agents is a different kind of estate agency. We give you personal service you’d expect from a traditional agent, but 24 hour. Our online platform that makes everything much easier. Covering both sales and lettings, we are able to offer a truly comprehensive service for a fraction of the cost because we don’t have high street offices.”
According to its website, its packages are £50 excluding VAT and £199, again excluding VAT, with the higher price including photography and a board.
Both packages offer services such as negotiation and viewings. A note at the bottom of its website describes the company as DT Property Auctions LTD Trading As Daniel Thomas Online Estate Agents. Neither its own website nor Zoopla was showing any properties.
Dan Tyldesley said in his tweet that the offer was for people with homes for sale or let, who wanted to “be seen by thousands on the major property portals such as Zoopla, but don’t want to pay high estate agency fees. Look no further, for a limited time only we are offering our basic package for just £25 plus VAT”.
When we contacted Tyldesley, he confirmed to EYE that the £25 plus VAT offer is for a limited time only “as this is usually £50 plus VAT”.
Next!
Seems a smidge expensive to me at £25 ( plus vat) – and wouldn’t they be better to advertise at £30 (including VAT)?
I wonder if they’ll negotiate on that!
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Correct Simon. Trading Standards CPR guidance states:
5.14 When offering to sell services to consumers, you must state your charges and fees inclusive of VAT. Whether you charge a fixed fee or a percentage of an as yet unknown sale price, stating the fee or percentage inclusive of VAT is more meaningful for consumers. In all cases you should make it as easy as possible for consumers to work out how much they will pay overall.
** Will the next agent in the race to ground zero be as cheap as a newspaper. How far will £25 go if they get a many £housands fine, especially what they can’t quote fees in line with government industry guidance.
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Time zoopa and rightmove decided what an estate agent actually is…. here’ s a few ideas:
They have to be:
NO SALE NO FEE = honest, results based business model.
Thats it ..its not hard,
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….you pay peanuts…!
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“We give you personal service you’d expect from a traditional agent, but 24 hour. Our online platform that makes everything much easier.”
That would be the “online platform” that currently displays a little Icon in the bottom right-hand corner saying
“We’re offline”.
The icon that when you click on it, you get a pop-up saying
“Sorry, we are not available at the moment. Please leave us a message.”
You couldn’t make it up. You wouldn’t.
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Complete and utter joke. Also I seem unable to find any properties for sale, their auction department does not have a website.
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PeeBee…”you would’nt”..
There you have the difference in this new online world…dont let the truth get in the way …shareholders dont want honesty they want profit…
WHO is supposed to be watching over honesty?….business has never had to ask that question before.
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As much as industry sees regulation and legislation as a pain. It could also be the saviour ‘IF NON COMPLIANT’ models are policed and funed and good fair trade models are left to charge fair fees and do what they should.
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They’re STILL stating they are offline, by the way – queer way to be an online Estate Agency…
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Their advert & website are definitely non compliant with Rule 3.18 of the CAP code which states “Quoted prices must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers”.
Do we expect an informal ruling shortly?
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He will soon realise how unsustainable that offer is when he quickly runs out of money trying to compete in a market place that is dominanted by the Likes of PB.
He’ll need around 20 listings a month just to cover his Zoopla costs, that’s without any other costs and his own wage. As a new company, assumingh it is, without spending masses on advertising he will find it very difficult. IMO of course.
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Meanwhile the rest of us charge a fair commission and take stock on, while they work for nothing.
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Woodentop. Answer left for you read prior post:
New Money Laundering Regulations: First the bad news – more red tape
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It’s very simple. Pay nothing, you get nothing!
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“Pay nothing, you get nothing!”
Could be even worse than that!
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yeah, you could pay £25 and get nothing.
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Worse again, mrharvey…!
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This reminds me of an agent who only charged £25 in 1972, at a time when we worked of a scale. As with that agent, these newcomers will eventually go away and out of business, as ‘there is no taste in nothing’
What worries me is that there are people who will happily use them, perhaps not seeking any other advice and then being persuaded to sell at a figure well below its true value – possibly to a friend of “Mr £25” as we saw before !
The problem with our industry at the moment is that the corporates and indeed perfectly competent independents are ‘running scared’ of the on-liners with whom they should not try an compete, as to do so will eventually destroy their business.
Instead they should be enhancing their appeal by demonstrating their track record and added value to the vendor with their skills and professionalism – all of which will continue to deliver a better and thus more valued service which will be reflected in the deal.
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I agree but which part of the business does the customer pay for?
Finding a buyer = put it on rightmove
The rest of the transaction = skill – its to late once youve paid your £1000 upfront..
the public need protecting. I would do full service for £1000 upfront…but i wouldnt…cos iam honest…irony.
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“©2017 BY DT Property Auctions LTD Trading As Daniel Thomas Online Estate Agents”
Property Auctions??
Do I feel the need for NAVA/RICS to be asking some questions here…?
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Apparently, according to a very high profile person within the industry, “wrong doing has always been rife in the industry so why bother trying to police it now? Agents just don’t care and aren’t interested”.
(I’m paraphrasing but that’s a fairly faithful representation of what was said.)
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Proactive policing would have stamped it out yonks ago and the knock on effect today, agents would not get the bad and misconceived publicity. I blame all the regulators for form filling exercises.
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Proactive policing would have stamped it out yonks ago and the knock on effect today, agents would not get the bad and misconceived publicity. I blame all the regulators for form filling exercises.
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