Purplebricks reviews: the fee, the contract and the record
Read against the Purplebricks service agreement, its price list and public registers.
On this page
The short answer
Purplebricks reviews on Trustpilot scored 4.2 of 5 from 146,606 reviews on 22 September 2026, and the company invites its customers to write them.10 Purplebricks charges a fixed fee instead of commission, from £833 plus VAT, owed whether or not the home sells.56 On Pay Later, the Purplebricks fee falls due ten months after you instruct.6
Purple Bricks, Purple Brick and Purplebricks are one company, and the reviews of it set a high invited rating beside a public record holding two upheld advertising rulings.
Purplebricks: fees, contract and records at a glance
- Prices published £833 to £1,333 plus VAT to pay now, £999 to £1,599 to pay later.5
- Fee owed if it does not sell Yes: clause 18 rules out a refund merely because the home does not sell.6
- Pay Later clock stated Ten months from instruction, not from listing, under clause 5.3.
- Conveyancing condition Pay Later requires the allocated conveyancer.5
- Referral fees published The conveyancer is named, with what Purplebricks receives per file.7
- Company behind the brand Purplebricks Property Limited, 14856837, active.1
- Latest accounts filed Due 24 June 2026 at the company and its parent, and still unfiled three months later.2
- Redress scheme The Property Ombudsman, for residential sales and lettings.9
- Propertymark and client money protection Neither confirmed on the schemes' own registers.15
- Reviews invited The Trustpilot profile says the company invites its customers.10
Who owns Purplebricks now, and is it still trading?
Purplebricks is still trading. Purplebricks Property Limited, the company that trades as Purplebricks, was active on the Companies House register on 22 September 2026, and its parent is Strike Limited, formerly Housesimple Limited.12 Strike Limited's three people with significant control, all notified on 2 June 2026, are Sir Charles William Dunstone, holding between half and three quarters of the shares, Freston Ventures Investments LLP, and Michael Patrick Douglas Bruce.3
Purplebricks Property Limited is not Purplebricks Group plc, the stock market company people remember from television. It was incorporated on 9 May 2023 as Strike Bidco Limited and renamed five weeks later.1 The brand carried on through the change. The company behind it is three years old.
Company record, read 22 September 2026
Michael Patrick Douglas Bruce also became a director of Strike Limited on 2 June 2026.4 Three new controllers and a new director on one date amount to a change of hands, so some of the prices and terms below may predate it.
The company behind the brand, by date
- 9 May 2023 Incorporated as Strike Bidco Limited1 Renamed Purplebricks Property Limited five weeks later.
- 2 June 2026 Three new controllers at the parent3 Strike Limited records them all on this date, and appoints one of them a director.
- 24 June 2026 Accounts due2 For the period ended 28 March 2025, at both the company and its parent.
- 22 September 2026 Still not filed1 Neither set of accounts appears on the register.
The unfiled accounts at Purplebricks Property Limited and Strike Limited are not a finding about how the company treats sellers, and late accounts are common.2 They do mean the most recent published figures are more than two years old, so nobody outside the company can see its current financial position.
How much does Purplebricks charge?
Purplebricks Property Limited, trading as Purplebricks, charged a fixed fee of £833 to £1,333 plus VAT paid up front, or £999 to £1,599 paid later, on its published prices of 22 September 2026.5 The fee is set by what your home is worth, not by what it sells for.
| Your home is worth | Pay Now | Pay Later | Their stated saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £200,000 | £833 plus VAT | £999 | Up to £2,121 |
| £200,001 to £300,000 | £1,083 plus VAT | £1,299 | Up to £3,365 |
| Over £300,000 | £1,333 plus VAT | £1,599 | £6,201 on a £500,000 home |
Add-ons read on the same day: assisted viewings £499, energy performance certificate £199.5
Pay Now and Pay Later are the same money, written once without VAT and once with it. £833 plus VAT is £999.60, and £1,333 plus VAT is £1,599.60. Pay Now still carries a badge marking it the better price.5 What differs is when you pay and what you give up to defer it, set out under the Pay Later conveyancer. If you are quoted a difference between the two, ask for both figures including VAT in writing.
Set any fixed fee against a percentage quote on your own price with our estate agent fees calculator.
Do you pay Purplebricks if your house does not sell?
Yes. Clause 18 of the Purplebricks Property Limited service agreement says no Purplebricks selling service carries a money back or refund guarantee merely because your property does not sell.6
On Pay Later, the clock starts on the day you instruct Purplebricks. The House Desk's reading of the agreement on 22 September 2026 found a deferred period of at most ten months from instruction. Clause 5.3 says it does not begin when the property goes on the market.6 Photographs, a floor plan and a listing that goes live three weeks after you sign all come out of your ten months.
When the Purplebricks fee becomes payable
- The sale completes What you owe: The fee is due, collected from the sale proceeds by the conveyancer.6
- Ten months pass from the date you instructed What you owe: The fee is due in full, whether or not anyone has offered on your home.6
- You withdraw the house from sale What you owe: The full amount becomes payable immediately. Withdrawal does not cancel what is due.6
- You decline to use their conveyancing service on Pay Later What you owe: That is itself a payment event under the agreement.6
- You complain What you owe: Nothing changes. Making a complaint does not pause or extend the date the money falls due.6
The refund route in clause 17 is narrow. It returns the package fee less a £420 administration charge only if all eight of its conditions are met, among them that the home was on the market for at least twelve months, that it was marketed at or below Purplebricks' own valuation for the final three consecutive months, that no other agent was used, that no asking price offer was unreasonably refused, and that the claim was emailed within fourteen days of the fee falling due.6 If you later sell to anyone Purplebricks introduced, within twelve months, the refund is repayable in full.6
The Purplebricks agreement has no sole agency clause, which is a promise to use no other agent for a set period, and no minimum term or notice period.6 You are free to instruct another agent at any time, because the fee was never tied to a sale. If you are weighing that against a commission agent's tie-in, our tie-in and notice checker works out where a traditional contract leaves you, and changing estate agents explains the introduction rule that can leave a seller paying two fees on one sale.
Before you sign, picture month ten with the house still unsold, because on Pay Later that is when the bill arrives, counted from the day you instruct. If paying the fee from savings at that point would hurt, a fixed fee is the wrong bet for your sale.
Haroon Ali Author, The House Desk. Over 11 years in property and renovation Do you have to use the Purplebricks conveyancer?
On Pay Later, yes. The Purplebricks packages page says in a one line footnote that you must use the allocated conveyancer.5 Paying up front costs the same money and leaves you free to choose your own conveyancer. The referral fees page puts the condition in the company's own words: some of its products require you to use certain recommended services, such as conveyancing.7
The referral fees page also publishes what Purplebricks receives when you use those services. For conveyancing in England and Wales it names Simplify Moving Limited, and for an auction referral it states a minimum of £2,750.7
What Purplebricks receives from Simplify Moving on one conveyancing file
- File opened £40 7
- Searches completed £170
- CompletionDepends on the price of your home £480.96 to £787.92
£690.96 to £997.92 on a file that runs to completion
If you are looking for Purplebricks conveyancing reviews specifically, treat them as a separate question from the agency. The conveyancing is done by Simplify Moving Limited, not by Purplebricks, so reviews of one tell you little about the other.7 Ask the panel firm for its own quote and read its own reviews, and set that quote against the average quotes in what conveyancers charge sellers.
Deferring the fee costs nothing in interest during the ten months. What deferring costs you is the choice of conveyancer.56
A fixed fee against a percentage, on your own numbers
On a £300,000 sale, the Purplebricks Pay Later fee is £1,299 against about £4,680 including VAT at 1.3 per cent plus VAT, the high street average Purplebricks Property Limited quotes on its packages page.5 The fixed fee is cheaper if the house sells. If it does not sell, the fixed fee is still owed and a no sale, no fee commission is not.
The same £300,000 sale, two ways of paying
A fixed fee is a bet on selling. On a property that may sit, the commission agent carries that risk for you and Purplebricks does not. Work out your own numbers on what estate agents charge before you decide, and read how estate agents differ for what the service itself includes.
What do Purplebricks reviews on Trustpilot show?
Purplebricks reviews on Trustpilot show a high score from a large, invited sample: Purplebricks Property Limited's profile read 4.2 of 5 from 146,606 reviews on 22 September 2026, and says the company invites its customers.10
- 4.2 of 5 Trustpilot score10
- 146,606 Reviews in total
- 81% At five stars
- 8% At one star
At 146,606 reviews the sample is huge, and it is still made of the customers Purplebricks chose to ask. Trustpilot marks those reviews as invited.16
Look at the distribution before the average. Roughly one review in twelve is a one star review, and on a sample this size that is thousands of one star accounts. A score cannot tell you what any seller achieved on price, how long the house took, or whether the fee was paid on a home that never sold.
Money Saving Expert is the other place people look for a verdict. We found no MoneySavingExpert review of Purplebricks. What carries that name there is its member forum, where sellers write up their own experiences. Those posts are worth reading for what they describe and worth nothing as a score.
What the public record shows
Two Advertising Standards Authority rulings against the Purplebricks brand were upheld, in 2016 and 2018, and two later cases were closed without a ruling.111213
| Date | Outcome | What it concerned |
|---|---|---|
| September 2016 | Upheld | A £4,158 average customer saving, found misleading and unverifiable; the company was told to hold adequate substantiation for savings claims11 |
| June 2018 | Upheld on all three points, on a complaint from a rival agent | An optional £300 viewings charge not made prominent; an unclear basis for the savings calculator; no clear statement that the fee was payable even if the property did not sell12 |
| November 2021 and April 2022 | Closed informally, naming the former listed company | No text published, so nothing to report13 |
The 2018 point about paying without a sale is eight years old and is still the term a seller most needs to understand before signing.
Purplebricks Property Limited is registered with The Property Ombudsman for residential sales and residential lettings.9 Its complaints procedure sets out two internal stages and then referral to the ombudsman, within twelve months of the stage two reply.8 Use that route in writing. The agreement is explicit that complaining does not delay the money falling due.6
What we could not confirm
Is Purplebricks good for sellers?
For some sellers it is. Purplebricks suits a home likely to sell well inside ten months of instructing. It also suits a seller happy to run or pay for viewings, who would rather keep the difference between £1,299 and a four figure commission. A flat or house in a busy local market fits the Purplebricks model, as does an owner with the time to chase progress.
Because the Pay Later bill arrives ten months after instruction whether or not anyone has offered, Purplebricks is a poor fit for a home that has sat unsold before. The same goes for an unusual house, a short lease or a slow market. If you want to choose your own conveyancer, do not take Pay Later.
Questions people ask
Can you cancel a Purplebricks contract?
You can withdraw, but the agreement says withdrawal does not cancel amounts already due, and on Pay Later the full amount becomes payable immediately. There is no notice period or tie-in in the current agreement, because the fee is not tied to a sale.
Is Purplebricks cheaper than a high street agent?
It can be, and the saving is smaller than the headline. Their own figure of 1.3 per cent plus VAT on a 300,000 pound home is about 4,680 pounds, against 1,299 pounds on the Pay Later tier for that price. The trade is that the fixed fee is payable whether or not you sell.
Is it Purplebricks, Purple Bricks or Purple Brick?
The company writes it as one word, Purplebricks. Searches for purple bricks reviews, purple brick reviews and reviews of purple bricks all reach the same firm, and there is only one company of that name in the UK. Nothing turns on the spelling.
Is there a Money Saving Expert verdict on Purplebricks?
We found no MoneySavingExpert review of the company when we looked. Purple bricks reviews on Money Saving Expert are forum posts, which are members writing about their own sales rather than a judgement by the site, so read them the way you would read any single review and decide on the fee terms instead.
What did the Advertising Standards Authority rule about Purplebricks?
Two rulings were upheld. In September 2016 an average saving claim was found misleading and unverifiable. In June 2018 all three points were upheld, including that the advertisement did not make clear the fee was payable whether or not the property sold.
If a fixed fee is not the answer
A Purplebricks fee is owed whether or not the home sells. If that is the problem, a commission agent on no sale, no fee terms takes the risk off you and charges more when the sale completes. An auction ties the winning bidder to the purchase once the hammer falls. A house-buying company pays less and moves fastest. The three ways to sell works out the cost of each, and other company profiles are collected on our company reviews.
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Sources
(17)
Numbers in the text link to these. Each was read on the date shown. How we research
- PURPLEBRICKS PROPERTY LIMITED, company 14856837
- STRIKE LIMITED, company 07622707
- STRIKE LIMITED, people with significant control
- STRIKE LIMITED, officers
- Our packages
- Purplebricks service agreement, terms and conditions
- Referral fees, updated 22 April 2026
- Purplebricks complaints procedure
- Purplebricks entry on the register of businesses
- Purplebricks reviews on Trustpilot
- ASA ruling on New Broom Ltd trading as Purplebricks, reference A16-331595
- ASA ruling on Purplebricks Group plc, reference A18-442067
- Rulings search for Purplebricks
- Statement on conditional selling, 15 July 2025
- Find an expert, agent directory search
- Trustpilot's review labels
- Estate Agents Act 1979, section 23A: redress schemes