Not All Home Swap Websites Are The Same
Unlike some companies HomeLink only shows the listings of current members i.e full members within their paid membership or trial members within their free 30 day trial. Listings are automatically removed from the site on their date of expiry.
Some companies do not remove expired listings, but continue to display them to give the impression that they have far more members than they actually do. While this makes their database of homes appear larger, it means that members may have a very low response rate to offers that they send - as they may be contacting members who no longer wish to or are unable to commit to a home exchange.
LoveHomeSwap.com is one company that has used this practice to inflate their numbers which we at HomeLink felt was misleading to consumers. In late 2016, HomeLink lodged a complaint against them with the UK Advertising Standards Authority.
The ASA investigated our complaint and agreed that LoveHomeSwap's use of inactive listings to make claims about the number of homes available was misleading - and our complaint was upheld. They ruled that as of 1st March 2017 LoveHomeSwap must not include inactive listings in any claims that they make about their membership - but they do continue to display these old listings. We know of one lady who took out a 2 week free trial in 2009 and her listing is still displayed - 8 years later.
With HomeLink, you have the reassurance of knowing that you will only see the listings of current members and so will not waste your time writing to long-expired members.
To read the full adjudication click the link below:
