New recommendations for those who rate Estate Agents:

February 16, 2016

Of recent times, the review space in the UK Estate/ Letting Agency industry has heated up somewhat especially with the launch of raterAgent led by Malcolm McCallion impacting on the industry monopoly that AllAgents appeared to have. More and more are entering this field now, I was recently contacted by Feefo who’s approach is different in that they work directly with agents to email out only to their genuine customers thus guaranteeing that reviews are 100% genuine, a kind of invitation only concept rather than a ‘public one’.

An update sent out from raterAgent makes for an interesting read below including reference to the new guidance from the CMA towards review website:

Mal McCallion from raterAgent wrote:

“The real topic on all conversations in this segment of the industry is the validity of reviews and who / what is reviewing agents – Are they real or fake, are they done by competitors or genuine consumers who experiences to share.”

“The Government, through the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), has today strengthened its guidance on review websites.”

Crucially, it requires that review sites;

  • Must subject both negative and positive reviews to rigorous checks for fakes
  • Must have strong procedures in place to remove these fakes
  • Must make it clear to site users why their review might not be published
  • Must clearly disclose any commercial relationships they have with the businesses listed
  • Must not give businesses the right to block reviews they do not like.

rateragent complies with all of these already – and always has done.

“If you suspect that the review site you use does not, you may find that all of your reviews will be treated as fake and removed by the CMA.”

 

“Don’t risk your future reviews by recommending a site that doesn’t comply with Government guidelines. Start building your reputation with a review partner that was built on transparency and trustworthiness – rateragent.”

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

How to help out hoarders
Estate Agent Talk

Neighbourly nightmares: One in three Brits face next-door disputes

New research from Rightmove reveals that over a third of Brits (36%) admit to having had an argument with their neighbour Top annoyances are noisy neighbours (78%), parking spot poachers (71%) and curtain twitchers (70%) Neighbour behaviours deemed the biggest red flags are asking for your Wi-Fi password (87%) and letting bins overflow (71%)  …
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 07/08/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Interest rates cut to 4%, inflation expected to rise to the same figure The Bank of Engaland after two ballots approve 0.25% cut in rate to 4%, but inflation is double target figure In what is the fourth rate cut since Labour came into power…
Read More →
Breaking News

1 in 5 private rented homes could be illegal

More than one in five private rented homes in England currently fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard (DHS). Analysis from Inventory Base suggests that these properties would be illegal to rent should the proposed extension of the DHS within the Renter’s Rights Bill (RRB) pass into law. The DHS is a government-issued minimum standard…
Read More →
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Property Industry Response to Latest Bank of England Rate Cut

Following a hold in June, the rate has today been cut to 4.0%. This comes despite inflation (CPI) sitting at 3.6% in June 2025, higher than the Bank of England target rate of 2.0%. The decision to reduce the base rate by the Monetary Policy Committee was the result of five members voting for a…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove Comment on The Bank Rate Cut

Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert says: “As expected we now have the third Bank Rate cut of the year, with the Bank continuing along its forecast trajectory. Mortgage lenders have had a bit of room to reduce rates over the last week, owing to the ongoing developments around global tariffs. However, we expect that lenders…
Read More →
Breaking News

UK property at its strongest since 2022

The latest research from GetAgent.co.uk has found that the UK property market is currently performing at its strongest since 2022, with both mortgage approvals and transactions at their highest average monthly levels in three years. GetAgent analysed HMRC and Bank of England data on residential property transactions and mortgage approvals, looking at the year-to-date figures…
Read More →