Introduction
This document (referred to as our ‘Service Agreement’) gives you information about the terms upon which we agree to offer and provide you with our Products and Services.
We encourage you to print off a copy of this document and refer to it as you use our Products and Services.
If it is necessary to change the Services Agreement or add or remove any part at any time, we will post such changes on the Website. It is your responsibility to check the Website for any changes. You agree to be bound by such changes if you should continue to use the Products and Services.
What do words and phrases mean in these terms?
‘Account’ means your Account that we operate and you control within the Online Platform. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the area where you instruct Purplebricks and manage the process of a sale, purchase, let and/or rent (including all marketing services).
‘Administration Charges’ means the sum of three hundred and sixty pounds including VAT (£360.00).
‘Advertisement Period’ means 12 calendar months.
‘Advert’ means how your property is to be displayed in advertising and marketing which may include (subject to the nature of the Products and Services) photographs, descriptions, key features and floor plans.
‘Advertised Rates’ means the charges for the Products and Services as advertised by Purplebricks from time to time.
‘Claim’ means a claim in writing by the Customer to Purplebricks addressed to the Chief Financial Officer, Cranmore Place, Cranmore Drive, Shirley, West Midlands, B90 4RZ making a request for a Refund and confirming that they have complied in full with these terms and conditions entitling them to make a claim.
‘Completion’ means the formal legal completion of the sale of your property.
‘Content’ means all of the content, documents, information and matters on or in your Account or contained within the Website and or Online Platform, whether through the Website and/or Online Platform or uploaded manually.
‘Conveyancing Services’ means Advanced Conveyancing, Premier Property Lawyers, Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors (in Northern Ireland) and Your Conveyancer (in Scotland) or such other firm or firms who are part of a panel of Solicitors or Licensed Conveyancers introduced by us to you.
‘Deferred Payment Date’ means the date where any of the following occurs whichever happens first:
When the property sells and the legal process is complete or
If you withdraw your instructions for us to market the property or
If you choose not to use the Conveyancing Services – see further term below or
Ten months from the date when you agree to use our services.
‘Excluded Costs’ means the full cost of the viewings service or any other additional product or service (over and above the core marketing fee) of any kind such as Energy Performance Certificates and premium displays.
‘Extra’ or ‘Extras’ means any of the Extras contained within the Online Platform and available for you to advertise as part of your marketing.
‘Instruct’ means taking advantage of the Products and Services having paid the Advertised Rates.
‘Interruption’ means any form of interruption to the ability of Purplebricks to provide or operate the Online Platform, the Systems or Products and Services.
‘LPE Valuation’ means the price that your appointed Local Property Expert advised you to market your property for as documented in your Valuation Report.
‘On the Market’ means advertised on www.rightmove.co.uk, www.zoopla.co.uk and on www.purplebricks.com.
‘Online Platform’ means the Systems provided to you in accordance with this this agreement to manage the Products and Services.
‘Pay Later Terms’ means these terms and conditions and the agreement you have entered into with the Provider that will be made available for you to read on the website at the time you choose to pay in this way.
‘Pay Later’ means where you have not chosen to Pay Now and have agreed to the Pay Later Terms when you Instruct Purplebricks.
‘Pay Now’ means when you Instruct Purplebricks and have not chosen to Pay Later.
‘Privacy Policy’ means the Privacy Policy as amended from time to time and published on the Website and Online Platform.
‘Product Service Fee’ means the service option paid for or committed by the Customer for marketing their property which includes a Refund as part of the service chosen.
‘Products and Services’ means all and each of the products and/or services offered from time to time by Purplebricks within the Website and Online Platform.
‘Property’ means the property you instructed Purplebricks to market.
‘Refund’ means Purplebricks refunding to the Customer the Product Service Fee in accordance with these terms and conditions after deducting the Administration Charge.
‘Systems’ means the Website and Complimentary or subscribed (following a payment) access to the Online Platform.
‘Provider’ means Close Brothers Limited (Company No. 195626) registered in England and Wales, and its registered office is 10 Crown Place, London EC2A 4FT or such other provider as is notified to you from time to time.
‘Terms of Use’ means the terms and conditions for using the Website and Online Platform and published from time to time on the Website.
‘Website’ means www.purplebricks.com and www.purplebricks.co.uk, including all systems, Software and processes hosted therein.
Instructing Purplebricks
Full details of the Products and Services and what is included and the price of each is detailed on the Website.
All owners of the Property
Full details of the Products and Services and what is included and the price of each is detailed on the Website.
All owners of the Property
When you Instruct Purplebricks you confirm that you do so with the knowledge, consent and agreement of each and all of the legal owners and occupiers and those who have an interest in the marketing and/or sale of the Property. Further, you confirm that you have all relevant authorities and authorisations as are necessary or required to enable you to take advantage of the Products and Services.
Paying us
We will only charge you the Advertised Rates for the Products and Services. The Advertised Rates are fixed. We reserve the right to make a charge for the costs charged by the credit card company to Purplebricks.
Ways to pay
We may from time to time offer different methods of payment. You may be given the option to:
Pay Now
Pay Later
If you choose to Pay Now you will be required to provide us with your credit or debit card details and we will obtain approval for an amount up to the amount of the transaction and debit that amount from your card. Billing occurs at the time of, or shortly after your transaction.
If you choose to Pay Later we will provide you through the Provider with the ability to do so subject to the Pay Later Terms. The Pay Later facility is offered to our customers by the Provider. In order to take advantage of Pay Later you agree that Purplebricks can disclose to the Provider such information as we request from you on the Online Platform when you Instruct Purplebricks and when any event should occur that represents a Deferred Payment Date.
You will be taking out any Pay Later facility via the Online Platform although the application process will be undertaken safely and securely directly within the platform of the Provider.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ
If you choose to pay later you are obligated to make payment in full for our services when any of the following occurs, whichever happens first:
When the property sells and the legal process is complete or
If you withdraw your instructions for us to market the property or
If you choose not to use the Conveyancing Services – see further term below or
Ten months from the date when you agree to use our services.
You accept that the Provider may from time to time choose to carry out identity and regulatory checks with the information you have provided to us (and the Provider if applicable). Any checks will not appear on your credit history.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ
It is a condition of Pay Later that you agree to instruct the Conveyancing Services to act on your behalf once a sale is agreed with a purchaser and you hereby agree that you will instruct the Conveyancing Services to make payment in full to the Provider on Completion for the Products and Services taken by you in the event that you have not already made payment in accordance with the Pay Later Terms.To use Pay Later you must be a natural person who is also a UK resident. Pay Later is not available to companies, businesses, partnerships, charities, trusts and such other organisations that are excluded from time to time.
Pay Later does not apply to our lettings products and services and payment must be made in accordance with the terms and conditions of the products and services chosen.
Payment details
When you take advantage of any of our Products and Services we may take certain information from you such as the name on the card, card number, start date, expiry date, security code or issue number. This information will be used to take the agreed payment and will not be stored on our system. This information will be stored by the card merchant and only if you take advantage of Products and Services in the future will you get the choice to use the same card and we will then call for the information from the card merchant. You can choose not to have your card stored should you so wish.
Should you choose to Pay Later and are asked to provide your credit card and bank details we will not store this information but will safely and securely taken by or through the Provider who will retain the information in accordance with their terms and conditions.
If you believe you have been billed in error notify us immediately by emailing accounts@purplebricks.com.
Cancellations and refunds
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ
Once you have ordered Products and Services you will be liable to pay the total value whether you choose to Pay Now or Pay Later. Where you choose to Pay Later you will not pay for the Products and Services until payment is due to the Provider in accordance with the Pay Later Terms.
Should you wish to cancel or withdraw any Products and Services you may do so at any time. However, under no circumstances will any full or part credit be made in respect of Advertised Rates. You can withdraw your advert at any time by clicking on the ‘remove advert’ icon on your property page in the Online Platform. In certain circumstances you may be able to re-list the property within a designated period after withdrawal. Details will be made available at the time of seeking to withdraw/relist your Advert.
You are entitled to a 14 day cooling off period from the moment you instruct Purplebricks, up until the time you approve your advert to go live. At this point it will be deemed that we have provided the marketing service and you will no longer be entitled to a refund of the marketing fee.
You remain liable to pay the Provider in accordance with the Pay Later terms should you cancel or withdraw your advert or any Products and Services. Further Advertised Rates may be payable to reinstate any removed or suspended Products and Services.
In the event that you cancel your advert or any Products and Services and have chosen to Pay Later we will notify the Provider as such circumstances will result in payment being collected from you.
If at any time you have agreed to take advantage of the Conveyancing Services and thereafter withdraw, fail or refuse to use the Conveyancing Services you will be required to pay Administration Charges once you agree a sale of your property.
Purplebricks Plus Service (sales only)
In consideration of you paying or committing to pay the Product Service Fee and complying in full with these terms and conditions you will be entitled to a Refund of the Product Service Fee after deducting the Administration Charge.
In the event that you are entitled to a Refund you must make a Claim.
The conditions in order to make a claim are as follows:
You have purchased a service at the time you instructed Purplebricks to market your Property which includes as part of the service an entitlement to a Refund in accordance with these terms and conditions.
A period of not less than 12 calendar months have passed from the date that the Property first came On the Market.
The Property has been advertised for sale for at least three months prior to the Claim at the LPE Valuation or less.
You have not at any time refused or prevented potential purchasers from viewing the Property.
You have only advertised and marketed the Property with Purplebricks and have only accepted viewings and offers via Purplebricks.
You have not unreasonably refused an asking price offer.
You have not unreasonably withdrawn from a sale or otherwise unreasonably refused any advice or support from your Local Property Expert.
Upon receipt of the Claim Purplebricks will assess the nature and extent of the information provided and will pay all valid claims within 14 days after deducting the Administration Fee and once it has been confirmed that you have withdrawn the Property and it is no longer On the Market. Once the Property is withdrawn following a Claim you will be liable to pay a full fee should the Property become On the Market thereafter.
If you chose to Pay Later, you have fully adhered to the Pay Later Terms. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the full settlement of all fees due to the Provider.
You have not agreed to sell the Property at the time of submitting the Claim and / or there are no outstanding viewings to be undertaken or offers to be negotiated, accepted or declined.
You are liable in full to repay any Claim in the event that you sell, within a period of 12 months starting from the date that the Claim is paid, to any person, directly or indirectly, who was introduced to you, the Property, or who arranged a viewing or made an offer at any time before the Claim is paid.
Approving your advert
Should you take advantage of Products and Services where the Local Property Expert creates your Advert for approval, you will be notified by Purplebricks as soon as the Advert is available for approval. We always aim to do this as soon as reasonably practicable.
You are responsible whatever the nature of the Products and Services you use to ensure that all descriptions, photographs, floor plans and information uploaded and/or used in any advertising and marketing are accurate, current and are in no way misleading. If any of the information you provide or approve is or is found to be in breach of these terms, it will be removed immediately and you will be subject to the terms and indemnities contained in the Terms of Use and this Agreement. However, there will be no full or part credit in respect of Advertised Rates under these circumstances.
Photographs
You can only upload photographs that show your property for marketing purposes.
Photographs must be no more than 10MB and the maximum number you can upload and/or save in total for each property is 25.
You may use the tools in the Online Platform to crop, rotate, re-size etc. the photographs and you may change the order in which they appear on property portals and property particulars. You are wholly responsible for such changes.
To ensure the best quality images, please be sure to follow the recommended settings as you upload your photographs. The uploading of photographs, which do not comply with these Terms, will be treated as a breach and may result in your Account being suspended and/or terminated, the property withdrawn from the market and a report being made to the relevant authorities (if applicable).
You can create photobooks within the Online Platform and these can be distributed by email or social media and will be saved in the Online Platform.
In order to ensure the best possible service for all of our customers we will examine any photographs that are uploaded by you in advance of them becoming live on the property portals and the Website. This process will be carried out 24 hours a day to ensure that there is little or no delay in them becoming live.
We reserve the right to refuse to allow any image to be uploaded, made live or presented on any marketing or property portal that we consider in our absolute discretion to be inappropriate, inaccurate, misleading or likely to cause distress or embarrassment to anyone viewing the image.
Extras
Extras are a unique opportunity for you to offer your property for sale and/or let with certain value added extras.
You can choose to offer any one or more from the list of Extras and you can include a maximum value. You can also change these from time to time or withdraw them.
By adding an Extra to your marketing, you agree to offer that Extra to the purchaser/tenant if an offer is accepted by you. You further agree to be bound by the terms associated with that Extra.
Where notified, some Extra’s are conditional upon you using the Advanced Conveyancing service and by offering that Extra, you agree to use such service.
Energy Performance Certificate (‘EPC’)
It is a legal requirement for you to have commissioned an EPC before we are able to start the marketing of your property. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have a valid and up to date EPC in place before your Advert goes live. The Online Platform will prompt you about the obtaining of an EPC and will not let you publish the Advert until you have either provided an EPC or ordered one from us.
Advertising and Marketing
We will advertise and market your property for the Advertisement Period on such property portals, websites or publications as we consider to be the most effective at securing interest on your property from potential purchasers and tenants in our absolute discretion. We may withdraw or no longer take advantage of the services of such property portals, websites or publications at our absolute discretion.
For Sale and To Let Boards
Where you instruct Purplebricks to sell your property, we will arrange for one ‘For Sale’ board to be erected free of charge (if included as part of the Products and Services). All subsequent boards (and a ’To Let‘ board) will be charged at the Advertised Rates in force from time to time and published on the Online Platform.
In terms of sales where we provide a complimentary ‘For Sale’ board:
All boards shall belong to Purplebricks although it is your responsibility to ensure they are safe and secure and preserved for collection once the property is sold or is withdrawn from the market;
If we cannot collect a board that we are able to use again we will charge you to replace the board at the rates in force at that time.
For the avoidance of doubt, Purplebricks will not erect a ‘To Let’ board unless you ask us to do so and pay the Advertised Rates in force from time to time and published in the Online Platform.
Viewings
Subject to Interruption we will arrange and record viewings through the Online Platform. You will be notified immediately a viewing is booked. We will provide you with the name of the person(s) who wish to view together with the date and time.
If Purplebricks are conducting the viewings on your behalf, you will still be notified of the above information.
If you take advantage of the viewings service offered by Purplebricks, we will conduct all of your viewings for a fixed price as advertised from time to time. Under these circumstances, it is still your responsibility to ensure that the property is ready and prepared for the viewing, is in a safe condition and that the Local Property Expert has access to the property at the date and time of the viewing.
In the event we have conducted a large number of viewings on your behalf and you have received regular feedback to suggest that the price of the property is too high, we will want to conduct a marketing review call to discuss the best way forward. We reserve the right to withdraw the viewings service at any time but only where we consider that it is unreasonable to expect Purplebricks to continue to accompany viewings taking into account the number of viewings and the feedback received. However, there will be no full or part credit in respect of Advertised Rates under these circumstances.
Keys
If you take advantage of the viewings service offered by Purplebricks you shall supply Purplebricks with two sets of keys for all lockable doors, cupboards and areas that form part of the property. We shall store these in a safe and secure locked cabinet.
Empty properties
If your property is empty, you shall ensure that you conduct regular security and condition checks from time to time. Purplebricks shall not be responsible for doing so.
Recording your viewing availability
Subject to Interruption, if you have chosen to conduct your own viewings you may enter details into the Online Platform of when you are available. This will enable people who want to view, to choose a date and time to suit them. You will be notified when a viewing is booked. Where a viewing is requested outside of this availability, the Online Platform will ask that you confirm the viewing. It is your responsibility to do this immediately.
Feedback
We will request feedback from every person who has viewed or was due to view your property. The Online Platform will prompt them for feedback at least three times unless they confirm that they do not wish to provide feedback. You can track these requests in the Online Platform.
The feedback will be immediately available in your Account as soon as it has been provided and will be exactly as provided by the person concerned. The Online Platform is the most transparent for providing information.
Offers
Subject to Interruption we will report offers to you immediately they are made via the Online Platform. The nature, extent, position of the potential purchaser or tenant and desire to proceed, will be requested and provided to you automatically as the offer is made.
We will make such reasonable checks as are possible to ensure the offer made meets our criteria for a sale or let to proceed.
The information will always be made available exactly how it is provided by the potential purchaser or tenant through the Online Platform.
You will get a choice whether to accept the offer, reject the offer, reject and negotiate or, you can opt for Purplebricks to negotiate everything on your behalf (where you are selling your property or using our lettings services). You will get to choose one of these options each time you receive an offer.
We will always act on your behalf and negotiate the best possible offer for your property, without any conflict of interest.
Sales
We will provide you as far as reasonably practicable with advice and assistance once a sale is agreed in accordance with our Post Sale Charter.
If you chosen to Pay Later we will notify the Provider once a sale is agreed and again when contracts have exchanged and upon Completion.
Lets
All of these terms apply equally to lettings as they do to sales. There are additional terms and conditions specifically relating to Landlords and the lettings process under the heading ‘Landlords Further Terms and Conditions’ below.
Provision of personal information
For the effective use of the Products and Services we will be providing certain people with personal information such as your name, address, contact details, viewing availability, agreed sale price and position to proceed. Please read the Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy for more information, terms, and conditions. It is your responsibility to provide accurate up to date personal information through the Online Platform.
In the event that you choose to Pay Later we will disclose to the Provider such information as we request from you on the Online Platform when you Instruct Purplebricks and when any event should occur that represents a Deferred Payment Date.
Personal interest
We will always inform you as soon as we become aware of anyone making an offer for your property that is in any way connected with Purplebricks; whether they are employed, a contractor, family member or providing services to us.
In the event that you are aware of any personal interest from anyone connected with Purplebricks you should notify us immediately. We will then make such enquiries as we consider necessary and provide you with a notification in writing of the nature of the personal interest. You will have the sole discretion to decide whether you wish to deal with the person or persons concerned. We will never knowingly permit any offer to be made or sale agreed with someone connected to Purplebricks unless we have provided you with written notice. This written notice will ordinarily be displayed when you review the offer.
Before your Advert is published, Purplebricks will ask you whether you are in any way connected with Purplebricks; whether you are employed, a contractor, family member or providing services to us. This will be disclosed to all potential purchasers or tenants.
Third party companies
We will introduce to you, the buyer / tenant or any prospective buyer / tenant (where we deem appropriate and / or necessary) third party services (“the services”) such as mortgages, insurance, letting services and conveyancing but only where we reasonably believe that the services being provided are in the best interests of you, the buyer / tenant or prospective buyer / tenant and further that the third party companies are capable and required to, provide an exceptional service.
We may receive commission for introducing you but only when you agree to take advantage of such products or services. You may decide of your own free will and we will never pressurise or require you to use such products or services. You hereby expressly agree and accept that in the event that we introduce a product or service from a third party company that we may accept a payment or commission as a result of that introduction.
Where requested, we will instruct on your behalf third parties to conduct some of the services advertised by Purplebricks. Whilst we will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that they continue to provide an exceptional service we cannot accept liability for the conduct and service of those third parties acting on your behalf.
Availability of the Products
Whilst we will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the Products and Services are available at all times, Purplebricks does not guarantee, represent or warrant that your access to any of the Products will be uninterrupted or error-free.
We will always make all reasonable efforts to ensure that all Content submitted by you to us will be secure. We cannot guarantee that the Online Platform, Products and Services, the Systems or the Website will be free from loss, corruption, attack, viruses, ‘worms’, ‘trojan horses’ or other harmful components, or from interference, hacking or other security intrusions. You should be sure to back up your own system periodically to ensure that all Content available to you and located within your Account, is available to you in the event of any loss or damage as Purplebricks reserves the right to remove or suspend all or any part of the Content, at any time in accordance with these terms.
Please read the Terms of Use for further information.