Those buying and selling homes using online estate agent Purplebricks are seeing transactions disrupted after the agents’ conveyancing firm shut down its systems following a major security breach.
Premier Property Lawyers, the conveyancers recommended to customers selling homes via Purplebricks, took a number of its systems offline following the incident, which has been ongoing since Monday.
This led to buyers being unable to complete their purchases, with some saying they are stuck in limbo.
Customers using Purplebricks’ recommended conveyancers are facing moving delays
One said they had even packed all their possessions into a removal van, but were now unable to complete and therefore carry out the move.
Others say they have been trying unsuccessfully to get in touch on the phone or via the website for hours.
The issue affected all of the companies under Premier Property Lawyers’ parent company, Simplify Group.
This also includes the conveyancing service My Home Move, Advantage Property Lawyers, JS Law and DC Law.
On Wednesday morning, it appeared Simplify had made some progress in getting their systems back online – although there was a backlog of transactions to work through.
A tweet sent across multiple Simplify Group accounts this morning read: ‘We have now restored systems sufficiently to process payments to enable clients to move.
‘We have been working through the backlog and continue to proactively contact clients who are scheduled to complete.’
Clients were directed to an online form where they were asked to detail what stage they were at in their property transaction and to provide contact details.
According to the CLC, the regulatory body for property lawyers, Simplify Group had ‘been affected by a security incident involving some IT systems.’
It said it had taken some of its systems offline in an attempt to contain the incident.
According to the CLC, Simplify Group has also ‘engaged a number of third-party cyber specialists to fully restore systems’ and ‘find ways to support clients’ property transactions’.
The nature of the security breach is unknown, but it has resulted in inability to access the IT systems needed to complete some transactions.
It has left customers unable to contact their conveyancers, as the Premier Property Lawyers website has been inaccessible for more than 24 hours.
It is not yet known whether customers’ personal data has been affected in any way.
A spokesperson for Purplebricks said: ‘We’re working with Simplify, our conveyancing partner in England and Wales, to understand when their service will be restored and are doing everything we can to help and support our customers in the meantime.’
