Purplebricks removes social media claim about local home sales

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has informally resolved a complaint regarding claims made by Purplebricks about home sales.

The advertising watchdog revealed that it received one complaint about claims made by the online agent on Facebook.

It says: “An ad for Purplebricks on Facebook claimed that 5,212 homes had been sold in Argyll and Bute. 

“A complainant challenged whether this could be substantiated. The advertiser agreed to remove the claim from the ad; as such, we considered the matter closed.”

Purplebricks has now had nine complaints informally resolved by the ASA since 2017.

It has been subject to five investigations and rulings, five of which were upheld.

Purplebricks removed advertising claims last year that suggested it sold homes for a higher sum, on average, than rival agencies.

Meanwhile Contractors for Justice has named a legal expert to lead its claim against Purplebricks and other online agents that purported to hire self-employed agents and territory owners.

Aidan Loy will pursue a group litigation order claiming that these agents were actually employees in the eyes of the law and missed out on pay and benefits.

The allegations have previously been refuted by Purplebricks.

Loy was a senior civil servant in his early career between 1986 and 1993, which included working as a principal private secretary for Tory veteran Michael Howard.

He was also a lieutenant in the Royal Navy Reserves and has since gained decades of employment litigation experience.

Loy reveals in a video interview below that he believes the no-win-no-fee case is a “slam dunk” and says the claim is worth in the “tens of millions of pounds.”