The founder of a property review website yesterday said that many such sites, his own included, are flawed because the reviews simply cannot be authenticated.
Peter Ramsey, of Movem, said: “The problem is that how do you know James ever rented a property from Agent X? That’s the biggest issue with all review sites, in any industry.”
Movem, which successfully crowdfunded £200k last year, is launching a new crowdfunding campaign next week which Ramsey says will take review sites to a new dimension, as the reviews will be authenticated.
Movem started off as an online review site in the student lettings sector but went mainstream a year ago and allows tenants in any sector to post reviews of their properties, landlords and agents.
Turning the concept on its head, Movem is now about to release the ‘Movem Passport’ which will allow agents and landlords to check out prospective tenants and their track records immediately online.
Ramsey said: “We’ve spent the last year working closely with some of the largest agencies in the country, and have developed a new kind of instant tenant reference.
“Instead of waiting for previous landlords or employers to respond to emails or phone calls, Movem will verify a whole year of income and previous rental payments directly with the tenant’s bank.”
As we have reported, reviews site AllAgents is in dispute with Purplebricks. AllAgents is currently attempting to raise £50,000 to cover its legal fees, as it aims to challenge Purplebricks’ claim that its audit of reviews on allAgents has shown a number are fake or cannot be authenticated.
allAgents, which specifically carries reviews of agents, yesterday reached almost a quarter of its crowdfunding target with 57 supporters:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-us-fight-corporate-bullying-from-purplebricks-1
Stepping into the row, Ramsey said: “There’s a clear need for a review site that can actually authenticate tenancies.
“The dispute between AllAgents and Purplebricks has just emphasised that the current review portals, including Movem as it stands now, are fundamentally flawed.”
Ramsey said: “To clarify, I don’t think Movem is any more flawed than every other review site.
“The problem is that how do you know James ever rented a property from Agent X? That’s the biggest issue with all review sites, in any industry.
“With Passport we can now verify tenancies, and authenticate where people lived, and so our reviews can be verified.”
He went on: “We have created a closed loop, where a registered tenant interacts with a verified agency or landlord, and this allows us to follow up for feedback periodically. To clarify, Movem Passport allows us to authenticate tenancies.”
Movem’s crowdfunding pitch will go live on Crowdcube on Monday. However, EYE readers are being given an early look at the crowdfunding pitch video using the link here:
I couldn’t agree more that the independent review sites’ business models are flawed – and so are some of their sales tactics! Only yesterday we met an agent where a negative review had appeared on a well-known review site – completely bogus and unrelated to any interaction they had with any recent client – hotly followed by a sales call where they were told ‘if you join, we have a system that can allow you to challenge that review.’
Forget the independent sites – focus on Google. That’s where your potential clients are looking, and that’s where your occasional disgruntled client is going to post.
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