Rightmove is investigating agents in Britain’s single trendiest area – booming, high-profile and mega-affluent Canary Wharf, London.
The site says it is doing so after an “unusually high” volume of customer complaints.
The agents in Canary Wharf include all of the best-known names in UK agency such as Knight Frank, Savills, Hamptons, Chestertons and Foxtons, plus many independents.
The complaints appear to be about properties still being listed as available when in fact they are under offer or have been let or sold – or are entirely fictitious listings.
Altogether, more than 300 agents in the London postcode of E14 are being asked to verify their listings.
They are all being given two weeks to “review” their stock, with the threat that both branch information and listings will then be made invisible.
A quick look at properties for sale in the postcode on Rightmove suggests there are over 1,000 available. Remarkably few, however, seem to be under offer or sold subject to contract.
The properties range from £7m penthouses to £22,500 parking lots.
Rightmove says that in June, there were over 91,000 searches for properties in Canary Wharf.
A statement from Rightmove said: “As part of our data quality processes that ensure Rightmove has the most accurate property information available, we are carrying out an exercise to ask agents in London’s E14 postcode to review their property stock and ensure its accuracy.
“This is something we usually do individually with customers but, due to the high density of agents, large volume of lettings stock as well as unusually high customer and consumer complaints in this particular postcode, we have decided to contact all 300+ agents currently marketing properties in E14 at the same time in order to carry out a full review of the area.
“Agents are being provided two weeks in which to review their stock. If, after this time, branches are found to have inaccurate or out-of-date properties they will be at risk of having their listings and branch information made invisible on Rightmove until their property stock has been updated or removed as necessary.
“In all cases we will speak to a senior member of the branch before taking any action.”
According to Rightmove data quality manager Simon Zacharzewski, over 300,000 out-of-date properties were removed during 2013.
The site says that in the first half of this year, 8.6m email leads were delivered to Rightmove advertisers.
“unusually high” volume of customer complaints." WHO is the customer in this instance?
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either prospective tenants or prospective landlords, in all likeliness
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E14 is not the only place this happens. It's extremely frustrating both for Rightmove's customers and the property hunting public. (I doubt Rightmove mind it really, given all the extra traffic it generates.)
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Countrywide seem to do the same in my patch. Not sure I see it as "decent, honest and truthful" advertising in line with the TPO code of practice, but comes as little surprise they do it.
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I was out with one of our sales reps and called into some agents in Camberwell a few weeks back. The was a larger independent (near corporate size) who had a very well stocked window. I called in to compliment them to be told most of the window cards were long out of date, in that properties had long gone.
Basically the practice is known as ''Bait and Switch'' and carries fines under Trading Standards.
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I reported a number of local agents on our patches with detailed information about their practice of putting property for sale that was sold and re cycling old , completed sales to make it seem like there was more stock for them.
Rightmove said, in writing, they will only act if the person/company reporting the agent supplies land reg. evidence that the property has completed!
I took the view if you can't beat them……and now we re-cycle property and use Rightmove like the majority of other agents.
It's a shame because the public must get wound up with it but RM (in trying to always maximise profit for shareholders) don't employ enough staff to police the site. As MF says… they probably don't actually care because it generates more traffic.
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Come on Ladies and Gentleman. RM DO NOT police their web site, they do not stop private listings through the back door, agents breaking terms of contracts etc etc. RM take your money ,its as simple as that. They have no field agents to police in any event and if they did some of their biggest customers would be on the receiving end. It aint going to happen – period. It was intended to be a web portal FOR estate agents but that lasted the first one or two years, now it is for the buyer, advertisers and shareholders. All window dressing to be the number 1 portal.
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The days of websites like RM turning a blind eye to poor quality/illegal content are numbered and the quicker RM do something to protect consumers the better for all concerned. The latest CMA guidelines expect portal operators to be responsible for the lawfulness of the content that is displayed on their website. Here's one for starters…. See how many e14 properties you can find displaying a valid EPC.
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