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Purplebricks refuses to give details of tenancy deposit failure

Purplebricks is refusing to say how many landlords were affected by its failure to comply with the law requiring tenants’ deposits to be placed in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme.

It is also refusing to say how long tenancy deposits were held by the agency before they were eventually placed in an approved scheme.

The refusal to answer these questions follows the revelation that an unknown number of deposits taken from tenants by Purplebricks were not registered with any one of the three government-backed schemes operated by MyDeposits, Deposit Protection Service and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

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It is reported that some landlords could face penalties due to Purplebricks’ error if it emerges that the deposits secured were not protected with a government recognised scheme within 30 days - Purplebricks is refusing to tell Landlord Today whether that was the case.

A statement from the agency to Landlord Today says: “Due to the introduction of a new lettings IT system, a small number of tenant deposits were not paid into an authorised deposit scheme. As soon as we identified this issue, we took action and have now registered these deposits. We are currently communicating to the affected landlords and tenants.”

A spokeswoman adds: “We won’t be answering any other questions.” 

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

  • Mark Wilson

    You think these guys are the only ones in a mess?

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    The tenant fees ban has cut agency returns by approx 50%. Purple Bricks verbal adverts are sounding vvery spivvy and trashy

  • George Dawes

    I’d rather use a real physical agent with history thx

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    In my experience there is no such thing as a good letting agent. Do it all myself now and get far less grief.

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    There are a lot of bad agents and a good few useless ones out there, but I found a good local independent one 20yrs ago, I'm still hands on and know all my tenants personally who are always free to contact me direct, and they often do.

     
  • Matthew Payne

    Not sure why they are inforrming tenants, most wouldnt have noticed, most wouldn't have cared, but all will now take advantage of claiming the 3x deposit now. I am at a loss generally to understand how shareholders are sticking with the current management team, even more surprised than when they were appointed in the first place. The business is clearly being run into the ground, from what was a very successful start a few years ago and yet they are being left in place. What is their measure of success or failure? When Mr Darvey took over the share price was low, about £1 from its high of £5. After 2 years the share price stands at 28p and they have haemorrhaged what market share they once had.

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    They are a service business competing on nothing but price. They were doomed from the start. Just because they've been able to buy a big market share, funded by capital from investors searching for, yet again, 'the next big thing', doesn't mean they were ever a good business. Their model is, and always was, economically impossible.

     
  • George Dawes

    I use Strutt and Parker and they’re excellent, I’ve used others before and I wasn’t impressed ..

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