Words: Ashley Rigg
Published: 16th February 2011
*Twitters new libellous anti-agent page
In little more than ten years, the internet has transformed the overseas property industry.
With more information and choice than ever before, buyers are empowered to make more informed decisions.
At least that’s the theory. The problem comes when information is actually disinformation masquerading as truth. Competitors can hide behind the anonymity of the web and inflict serious commercial damage.
It is extremely difficult for potential customers to spot posts from genuinely unhappy customers from those of competitors with an axe to grind.
This is certainly the case with a new Twitter profile set up to vilify the UK’s most notorious estate agency chain, Foxtons.
@hatefoxtons is owned by an anonymous user who is “in no way affiliated with any company or organisation” and has been set up to “highlight Twitterers' grievances” with the company.
The photogrpah of a Foxton’s iconic mini being toed away is amusing and so are some of the barely literate postings. However many of the posts are personal and unsubstantiated insults.
Will Foxton’s care? It all depends on how much of a following the site develops. As a tweet from
@academyblog points out the wehatefoxtons.com website used to be the 3rd highest result when you Googled "Foxtons".
The fact that social media signals are an increasingly important part of Google’s algorithms means solicitors are now a regular cost of doing business for the most successful agents in the market.
Source: Global edge
User Comments
I started a discussion on that website asking them to please change it to www.wehatefoxtonsrealtors.com or similar. I am all for making companies be held responsible for their goods and services however I doubt they would get away with a "we hate anyone else name" so why diss my name? Would it have been so difficult to add realtors at the end of the domain name?
I am amused that they have been shut down but still confused about why they can not make the change to the domain name.
In regards to the overall content in the site, I guess when you have the power that company does, you are going to piss people off but I never thought the Brits would be so touchy...where is that stiff upper lip??
I hope that Foxton company gets its act together though, shutting down this website is not going to help them at all!
If anything, they should hire the former webmaster and start a legitimate complaints dept. to correct their business practices. Didn't anyone tell them that they have to look after their clients??
Foxton,
RF Works Canada
This article does not mention that wehatefoxtons.com was purely factual, allowed no personal details or clearly bogus reports and was managed to be a platform for free speech as was clearly stated on the front page.
The name reflected the wish to attract people that had been negatively impacted by the bad practices of unscrupulous employees and branches, of which there seem to be a lot.
Wehatefoxtons.com was never contacted by any legal representative of Foxtons. Wehatefoxtons was never knowingly libelous and focussed on allowing free discussion driven by site visitors.
webmaster,
wehatefoxtons.com