Quite timely then from my last blog about Online Agents vs High Street Agents, Emoov has now gone into Administration. If you are reading this blog in response to one of my advertising campaigns then continue to read to find out how you may be able to claim your money back.
With a website with around 5000 properties for sale, or sold (STC), Emoov has decided to close up shop. Which may be a surprise for some, when you consider High Street agents wouldn’t typically have anywhere near 5000 properties on their books (who mostly get paid on completion), and still manage to stay afloat perfectly fine (‘pay peanuts get monkeys’ rings through my head). Emoov has been operating at a loss since they opened up in 2009. It has since merged with Tepilo and Urban.co.uk. Not good news for anyone.
pay peanuts get monkeys rings through my head
Bear in mind also that Emoov are apparently rated No1 by their customers:
… really, No 1 goes into Administration. Hmm…
What is Emoov and what do they do?
If you have heard of Purple Bricks, i’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Emoov. Essentially they are the same thing, an Online Estate agent that list your property on Rightmove and Zoopla for an upfront fee. The model works for distressed or below market value properties (quick sale), but not for the majority of regular house sales.
How did Emoov do in terms of sales in Croydon?
Having a quick look on their website bought up the following figures, assuming they are still true since it’s conception in 2009.
| Search results for Croydon – Emoov | |||
| 12 | for sale currently | ||
| 5 | under offer currently | ||
| 1 | sold | ||
What happens Next?
The administrator has said outright that attempts to sell the business were unsuccessful, however the property listings may be bought by other companies.
Getting your money back from Emoov
If you have listed your property with Emoov, you may be wondering what happens, will your property still be listed for sale, and if you still have to pay (if you opted for the 10 month finance deal).
Well, the next few days we will hear from the administrators as to who has bought the property listings. The hope is that whoever does buy the listings will honour the original pricing strategies from Emoov and allow the customers to carry on with their listings. I predict some mess here for sure.
As with any company that goes into administration, the company pays out from top down in the organisation, so customers who are selling are more than likely to be right at the bottom of that list. Saying that, there are a few options:
Section 75…
If you paid on Credit Card, you may fall under the Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. The card company may be equally liable with the seller / supplier (Emoov) and you may be able to claim from it. Google Section 75 Consumer Credit Act for more information.
Chargeback…
A harder one, but if you paid by debit card, then you may be covered by the VISA, MASTERCARD or AMEX protection schemes.
Mid Sale?
You should be ok on this one. The portal you use to keep track of progress will most likely go down (if it hasn’t already) but if the buyers and sellers solicitors have already exchanged communication, they can continue to do so. Feel free to call in if you want us to progress your sale for you. Most sales fall through at this stage so it’s vital you have someone dealing with this daily.
The chances of you having a property listed with emoov seem pretty low from my research, but if you did, please feel free to pop in to my office or call on 02037614332 for a chat on how you can keep you sale going in this tough market.
