170 estate agencies ‘express interest’ in class action over Rightmove fees

The group organising the legal action, which has yet to begin, says both estate agencies and house builders have been in touch.

Some 170 estate agencies have contacted a group launched last month that is seeking to initiate a legal action against Rightmove to recoup what it calls “excessive fees”.

The firms involved are active in over 50 cities and towns across England, Wales and Scotland including London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Llududno.

Launched in mid-November, the group is led by former Competition and Market Authority panel member Jeremy Newman (main image, inset), funded by City firm Innsworth Capital and supported by law firm Scott+Scott UK LLP and economists Kairos Economics.

The Neg understands expressions of interest have been coming in from both estate agencies but also some housing developers, the two groups of customers who the portal charges to list properties on its website, with all seeking more information about the class action.

The group claims that fees totalling £1 billion could be recouped from the portal if the legal action is successful and it is preparing to launch a ‘class action’ which, unlike a ‘group action’, automatically includes all affected individuals unless they specifically opt out.

But, as in this case, having a significant number of estate agencies already asking for ‘more details’ could strengthen its case in front of a Competition Appeal Tribunal. There it will argue that the portal took advantage its dominant position in the online property portal market by what the group calls excessive and unfair prices to estate agents to list properties on its website.

Nevertheless the group has some way to go before that happens – next step is filing the case in court, which will happen in “due course”.

Rightmove has previously said that it’s “confident in the value we provide to our partners” and has “received notice of a potential claim”.

For information visit the group’s website.