Our response to Panorama

We are extremely disappointed and concerned by the way Panorama has pursued this investigation. We provided detailed evidence to challenge many of the claims put to us - including full call recordings and correspondence - but they appear to have been ignored. With this in mind, we feel obliged to respond to the allegations made against us.

As a fixed-fee agent, we are not incentivised to overvalue homes in the way commission-based agents might be. And, independent data shows our customers reduce asking prices by less than the market average.

We stand by our marketing advice to the seller identified in the film. The advice to move from an asking price of £175,000 to “offers over £170,000” came in the aftermath of The Bank of England’s base rate being raised on 22 June 2023, taking it to 5%, the highest since 2008, meaning the market was becoming slower. No one was incentivised by commission to recommend this price reduction, and nobody at Purplebricks is currently incentivised to recommend price reductions. The final sale price closely reflected this guidance.

The consumer expert in the programme stated it would be an issue if customers were pressured into making decisions. We agree, and stand against any hard selling practices. We sent the buyers identified in the film a conveyancing quote by email and they accepted it the next day, without any further communication from Purplebricks. We have evidence that our colleagues were nothing but helpful and polite throughout their case.

Sellers automatically receive all offers from buyers via the Purplebricks platform, and they can communicate directly, meaning there is no risk of offers being withheld or misrepresented. This remains a key distinction between Purplebricks and traditional estate agents. We are glad Panorama did not connect Purplebricks to allegations of discriminating against potential buyers.

We were extremely disappointed by what we saw in the team meeting featured. The views expressed do not reflect how we operate or what we stand for. That individual left the business in October 2024 and is no longer part of Purplebricks. It’s not the standard we hold ourselves to, and it’s not how our teams behave today. We’ve made big changes to improve our culture and ways of working and we continue to do so.

We appreciate there are cases where we have fallen short. But since new ownership in 2023, Purplebricks has made significant changes to improve customer service and rebuild trust. Today, 9 out of 10 customers rate us 4 or 5 stars, and complaints represent just 2% of our live listings.