CIELA again shrugs off sabre-rattling by PurpleBricks lawyers:

CIELA again shrugs off sabre-rattling by PurpleBricks lawyers, reiterates public request for substantiation of “completed sale” rate.

In response to this Telegraph article, PurpleBricks’s lawyers have written to CIELA for a second time claiming that the statement by CIELA Founder Charlie Wright is defamatory.

CIELA has today (Wednesday) responded (attached) to Norton Fulbright’s letter dismissing their letter as classic corporate bullying tactics with no substance and requesting clarification of the facts.

Charlie Wright said “We fully stand by our position that Purplebricks adverts are misleading because they compare its services to those of indepdent agents, and claims to perform better at a lower cost. This necessarily implies that the services are substantially similar, when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
But more importantly, CIELA must not succumb to such corporate tactics – bullying that almost always results in small business owners hushing up, purely due to legal intimidation.  This is the kind of behaviour that corporates get away with all the time and cannot be tolerated.  It breeds an environment in which only the giants with heavy resources may play, and eliminates the chance of transparency and accountability.  This has an unfair knock-on effect for unwitting consumers and agents alike.  We must resist such indirect market manipulation; hence CIELA’s publication of its response to Purplebricks in full.
We invite Purplebricks to refute this view with hard evidence which proves otherwise. We will not hold our breath though, as it has consistently ignored many public requests for transparency and substantiation, for obvious reasons.”
Shared by: Charlie Wright charlie.wright@ciela.co.uk

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

Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Back-to-school buyer bounce outpaces typical September uplift

New real-time analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that buyer demand received a stronger than usual back-to-school boost during the first week of September Buyer demand increased by 5% during the opening week of the month, significantly higher than the average increase of 0.4% seen over the same period during the last…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

8,500 tenanted homes currently on the market

8,500 tenanted homes currently up for sale as TLP highlights importance of clean client money handovers   More than an estimated 8,500 homes are currently being marketed for sale with tenants in situ across England, according to the latest analysis by The Letting Partnership, presenting landlords with the opportunity to acquire an investment generating rental…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Which property types take the longest time to buy?

From complex flats and shared ownership homes to new builds and unusual titles, Lyons Bowe reveals which properties can create the biggest conveyancing workload   The latest insight from Lyons Bowe has revealed which types of property are most likely to require the largest and most complex conveyancing workload, potentially adding more stages to the journey…
Read More
Commercial Agent Talk

Building Site Accidents and Compensation: A Guide for Injured Workers

One mistake, one faulty piece of equipment and an unsafe working setup could cause a construction laborer much more than just aches and pains. One injury can result in medical costs, showing up on working days, reduced income and a path to long recovery. Under certain circumstances, the workers may be entitled to get compensation…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

First-Time Buyers: Why 4–5 Houses is the Sweet Spot

House hunting before the stress kicks in: Four to five houses is the sweet spot for first-time buyers Just 20% of us feel excited on a first property viewing, rising to 47% by viewings 4 to 5 There’s a U shape trajectory of excitement when it comes to the viewing process However, there is a…
Read More
Breaking News

Two in five mortgage holders switched banks for a better mortgage deal

Of those who have a mortgage and switched banks, 41% did so to get a better mortgage rate deal and 30% did it to receive an incentive related to their mortgage Only 15% of people moving home switched their bank account during the move, while far more switched broadband (46%), energy (38%), and mobile phones…
Read More