Advertising watchdog rules on another complaint about Purplebricks

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled on another complaint lodged about Purplebricks.

Although the latest appears minor it adds to a lengthy list of complaints about the hybrid agency, most of which have been upheld.

The complaint this time was a reference to Purplebricks’ out-of-London fee of £849. Accompanying text read: “This is our standard fee for everywhere outside of London and surrounding areas, where we charge £1,199 inc VAT. Around 40% of our customers pay us a fixed fee of £300 to cover ALL viewings.”

An ASA statement about the complaint reads: “We received a complaint about Purplebricks’ website, challenging whether a claim that a certain listed amount was their standard fee could be substantiated. We approached the advertiser with our concerns and they agreed to amend their website. We thus considered the complaint to have been resolved informally.”

The fledgling trade group CIELA recently announced that it filed a renewed complaint to the ASA claiming that some of Purplebricks’ ads did not conform with an earlier adjudication by the authority.

Purplebricks says it is in frequent dialogue with the ASA and “will always work with them to rectify any issues.”

The authority has also ruled on another complaint about a property firm - HSB Homes, a property management company based in Peterborough.

There was a complaint lodged alleging that a listing on Rightmove, submitted by HSB Homes, did not clearly list fees associated with the property.

“The advertiser assured us that the listing has since been removed. We also received assurance that any future listing will clearly state administration fees” says a spokeswoman for the ASA, which judged this complaint to be informally resolved.