Estate agents demanding to have their properties removed from Houser are being told to agree they “don’t care” about their businesses or customers.
One agent, Jackie Oliver, whose firm is in Towcester, Northamptonshire, said she thought Houser’s attitude was appalling.
She said: “It is disgraceful behaviour.”
She, like others, requested removal from Houser, which has been populating its site with properties taken from agents’ own sites without permission.
A tick box must be completed, including one in which the agent agrees: “I understand that taking down my information and listings will negatively affect consumers.”
She was astonished to get a further message telling her to be sure she wanted her properties removed from the site.
The notice – reproduced here – comes as furious agents battle to get their properties removed as swiftly as possible. Some, like Jackie Oliver Estate Agents, are signed up to OnTheMarket, launching next Monday, with its “one other portal rule” – but are chiefly dismayed by what they see as spoiler tactics.
A number of agents, whether OnTheMarket or not, simply want their properties removed because they object to their own sites being “crawled”.
However, Houser is now telling agents that if they make repeated efforts to get their properties removed, they will go to the back of the queue.
It is warning: “The listing removal request form currently accessible works on a first-come first-served basis, where all incoming requests are forwarded to a queue.
“A few agents who are sending multiple hourly and daily removal requests are essentially putting themselves at the end of the queue with every successive request.”
Houser also says it has been receiving “numerous requests for bulk uploading and feed integration”, adding: “There are also some instances where different representatives of a business have given us conflicting feedback (one representative is asking for assistance with uploading more inventory while another is seeking removal).
“In such cases, we have suspended removal requests until the issues are resolved internally.”
It also continues to insist that its biggest challenge is to distinguish “general removal requests from fake or malicious ones”.
Nick Taylor, communications manager for Houser, told Eye that it is working on a listing removal interface which will be available this week.
Information about removing listings is given on the Houser website here
Below, what Houser wants you to say
So… what is the NAEA/RICS/GPEA etc doing about THIS on behalf of their Members, I wonder?
Mr Shinerock – surely now even you must realise, accept and acknowledge that this is the WORST development in Estate Agency since the invention of the camera? This is a scandalous abuse of technology and proves for once and for all that the internet can and does bring out the worst from behind the woodwork. Don't you reckon you should have a quiet word in the shell-like of your "genius" mate – for the good of the industry?
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PeeBee, when Rocky approached me and showed me a preview I was impressed with two things, the functionality he had planned and the ways in which he claims he can generate massive traffic to his site within about three months. I was not expecting a furore about the launch and even I can see the site has issues around search and useabliliy which will have to resolved if it is going to gain regular users. As to the tactics he is using in regards to requests by agents to remove their properties, I will have a chat with him about diplomacy although I'm hardly best qualified in that department am I. You have to admit though, he did promise real disruption and on that count at least he appears to be delivering!
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"I was not expecting a furore about the launch and even I can see the site has issues around search and useabliliy" Actually Mr Shinerock, the site has issues with COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND THEFT, not to mention downright rudeness!
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Well… he's managed the "massive traffic" already – I would say about 5000 visits per day from all the Agents he's managed to wazz off! In order to gain regular users it will need stock – which from what I see and hear will be coming off in droves. I don't think for one second talking to the guy about diplomacy will make a gnat's chuff of difference. Henry Kissinger would fail in that respect – he seems the kind that only responds to a swift hoofing in the nether-regions. Face it, Mr Shinerock – the guy has taken a five-tonne piledriver to a walnut and if THIS is what "disruption" is all about then I think we should simply close down the internet altogether and get on with the job like we used to.
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http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/HOUSER.CO.UK
Alexa ranking show 74% of traffic coming from Pakistan.
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"I will have a chat with him about diplomacy although I'm hardly best qualified in that department am I" No more ridiculous than Tony Blair being a Peace Envoy in a region he flattened and disrupted looking for WMDs he and his mate George had invented. I think this situation needs a Mo Mowlem rather than a Reverend Paisley.
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100% Agree with you on the NAEA etc comment. What is the point of these guys? After 20 odd years in the business I am still at a lose what they are here for! – As for Simon as abrasive as he is bit unfair landing this at his door! he has already said from memory he is not as "sold" on the idea as he once was. I would not say the worst development but certainly the most desperate and most poorly thought out business plan and execution! – There must be somebody on here with deep pockets or legal connections that can force him into either making this process easier or better still shutting it down!
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This smacks of those persistant, Ain't half hot mum, "please to help me with my market research" phone calls.
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I still can't even find Houser so I still don't know what all the fuss is about.
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I would not worry about Houser too much. I struggled to find their website even when typing in HOUSER. They did not even come up on the first page. Once I did find them (via the link on Property Industry Eye) I was not overly impressed. They only had 3 of our 100+ properties on and not one single image for any of the agents properties.
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I think people are making a big deal out of all this for no reason. Have you all never seen any online marketing content or campaigns? These banners and such text isn't anything new or something unique only these guys are doing. If I had to remove my listings, I don't think I would be ruffled by the text and check boxes, nor do I think it's that big of a deal.
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"Yes I don't care about my business, customers, or free leads"…Your actually defending that are you?
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I am not defending anything, I just find the whole fuss ridiculous. Are you seriously telling me that text bothers you? It makes you feel bad? Really?
If so, I have to say their marketing or whoever came up with that did his job well.
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Absolutely astonishing….Would you sign ANY document that made you CONFIRM that you "didn't care about your business and your customers" Please tell me you aren't saying it is acceptable in ANY way shape or form???????
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Are you seriously telling me this has undeniable legal standing? Are you really comparing a page with a bunch of check boxes and a button with a real legal document with your signature? And more importantly, I simply expressed an opinion, I didn't realise it would open me up to attack…why so hostile?
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Agreed – if 'life' is low enough to use these phrases in a business context, then it's certainly low enough to use them against us!
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Hang on a minute, you say "I have to say their marketing or whoever came up with that did his job well" – ARE YOU SURE? the fact they have upset possibly 1000's of agents who are determined to remove their stock and you think they did their job well?! This must go down as one of the worse product or service launches of all time!
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@JonathanRadford, your comments are so out of kilter with pretty much the whole industry on this issue, but you carry on if you think your on the right side of the fence.
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I don't have to be on the 'right' side of the fence. I expressed an opinion, and I had no idea that the few people commenting here speak for the industry.
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When I removed my stock off Zoopla they said "Sorry to hear that and hope to work with you again in the future."…Surely that would have been a better way for houser to deal with that.
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As I try to calm down after seeing that button in red (I wouldn't agree to the previous page, unless changed – so never saw this), I can't help but think how childish and silly this is. Getting someone to confirm they "don't care about their business or customers" is similar in tone to "I want my ball back" when a child doesn't get his own way in the playground. The more sinister side is that if a company does agree to these terms then Houser is perfectly at liberty to advertise your company name/logo with "xxxx estate agent admits to not caring about their business or their clients" I'm giving this company 1 week to sort it before getting our legal dept to take a good look at all the aspects of this company. Appalling behaviour.
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Maybe it's just me, but I really find it amusing at best. Like I said before, this isn't anything new, and if you guys are really boiling over this, I have to say welcome to the internet.
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@ Jonathan Radford said….."Maybe it's just me.."…….There is no MAYBE about it. Perhaps you could give us some examples of where we can experience this type of behaviour "all over the internet" because I've NEVER seen anything like it before.
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Then you my friend are probably not someone who has browsed the internet much. In either case, I expressed my opinion, I don't need your validation, nor do I have to justify it to you. Have a good day.
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Come on, I only asked you to back up your point with a few examples bearing in mind you suggested that such conditions were "the norm" on the internet? I can't agree with your comments today, but am happy to apologise if you expand and validate your claims. That's what a forum is about. Discussion. I 'm not sure why you would say this and then say "I don't have to validate or justify anything"…..a bit strange really.
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@Wilko, I am sorry but I find the tone of your responses hostile. I personally have come across a lot of messages like this all over the internet, especially popups when I decided to not sign up for something or delete my account. I don't remember the names of those services or websites right now, hence I can't really give concrete examples.
As for you not agreeing with my comments, that's totally alright. You have the right to choose whether you agree or not. Just like I exercised my right to voice my opinion, according to which such texts should not be taken too seriously. It is quite evidently a marketing ploy, and I feel those agents who want to get their properties removed should just go ahead and do it instead of making a fuss out of it. That is, per say, may own opinion, not something I am enforcing on anyone, nor am I asking anyone to agree with it. Hope I have made myself clear.
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I am not impressed with Houser or their ridiculous removal process – however I don't recall such outrage when Globrix did the same thing. What has changed? Is it the rise of OTM, or the fact we all know more about online agency?
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I think there was outrage, just nowhere to vent it!! I remember very well asking Globrix to remove data that has been scrapped. For what it's worth, my view is that this is about is the principle behind this website and the fact it is trying to be too clever by writing an erroneous cancellation clause. I guess it's trying to be a Google for property. However, it's very dangerous as it has already posted out of date information scrapped from my firm's website. Who is responsible when I get sued about that?? Please stop this now. Too polite? …..
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There is not a service supplier to the industry that hasn't got it wrong or mis-judged a situation. Instead of toughing it out, using delaying tactics and pressure from obvious cohort posters Mr Mirza might be well advised to take the whole site down and make contact with everyone. Instead of agents having to request removal of their data, remove it all and add back those Agents who agreed. Instead of turning this divot into an open cast mine, stop digging and ask politely. The property industry has a very long memory and unless Mr Mirza finds the way to pacify this situation it will simply escalate and every bit of investment; Time, Money and IP will be wasted and copied by someone else who treats the industry with the respect it deserves.
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WELL SAID, Robert! If only the chancers of the industry actually took heed of what people like you say – we'd all be in a better place…
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Thank you Peebee. It isn't magic, just treat Agents as they have to treat the general public. When faced with many of the scenarios Trevor alluded to in his article at the weekend; smile, take it for what it is and deal with it. There will hardly be a month go by in Agency when someone doesn't do the right thing or is a little too direct with a reply but an Agent's reputation is based on how you overcome the problem. In week 1 of my apprenticeship into Agency I was taught the power of Sorry; when genuinely delivered will defuse most situations.
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I want to grow my business for free? How ironic, seems to me Houser has a thing about growing businesses for free. “Let's take all the data Agents have amassed as a result of their local goodwill, reputation, experience and investment over many years and use it to build a business of our own. Surely they won't mind not being asked, after all it's free”
There is a very thin line between harmonious/symbiotic and irritating/parasitic and despite his 'genius' Rocky hasn't understood that.
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A Plan badly worded, badly planned and badly executed.
Is OTM really going to reprimand those agents who have not had their properties removed? No, because on launch week they have bigger fish to fry.
Take your time, get them removed properly, wait a little until everyone has calmed down a bit. There is no rush, noone even knows about the site and noone can find it easily so be patient. And I'll be surprised if it actually impacts anyone's business at all.
Why is there such a rush to remove your properties? I'm not saying this is right but I'm sure your employees have better things to do in the office than call Houser on the hour every hour.
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Only 4 hours until the new super dooper features that are akin to the invention of the camera are live on houser.co.uk, woohoo, can't wait!!
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Why the UK Real Estate market needs an Open Data revolution? https://medium.com/@thehomeboard/why-the-uk-real-estate-market-needs-an-open-data-revolution-591fded14d02
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You re-post your MDT all over the site – I'll simply do the same in reply…
Oh, dear – they're positively FLOODING out of the woodwork now – scrapers, stealers and chancers all…
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As someone not yet signed up to AM/OTM (I'm one of those disgraceful fence-sitters for the moment) it's almost humorous (and it might be if it wasn't so ridiculous) to sit back and watch this continue to unfold. Grumpy children playing with banknotes and wounded prides, any onlooker from the public probably isn't surprised: Agents playing up to their stereotype in the well-embedded public opinion.
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