The Property Ombudsman reveals 32% increase in complaints resolved

The Property Ombudsman scheme has released its latest annual report revealing an increase in the number of consumers contacting the scheme for help.

Related topics:  Landlords
Warren Lewis
4th October 2016
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 In the Ombudsman’s first annual report following her appointment last year, Katrine Sporle provides an overview of 2015, which confirms the scheme:

• Received 16,265 enquiries from consumers seeking advice
• Resolved 3,304 formal complaints (a substantial 32% increase from the previous year)
• Instructed agents to pay awards worth £811,134

Other focus points include a breakdown of compensatory awards, common causes of complaints, as well as several varied consumer case summaries.

Lettings statistical highlights:

• 1,965 formal complaints were resolved (33% more than the year before)
• 83% of complaints were supported by the Ombudsman
• 50% of complaints were made by landlords, while 47% were made by tenants
• The highest award issued last year was £16,954 for a lettings dispute
• The average lettings award was £522
• The regions with the highest volume of complaints were the South East (24%) and Greater London (24%), followed by South West (9%)
• The top three causes of complaints were: ‘Management (including repairs and maintenance)’, ‘Communication & record keeping’ and ‘End of tenancy issues (e.g. deposits, disputes and damages)’

Sales statistical highlights:

• 1,220 formal complaints were resolved (27% more than the year before)
• 73% of complaints were supported by the Ombudsman
• 60% of complaints were made by sellers, while 35% were made by buyers
• The average sales award was £374
• The regions with the highest volume of complaints were the South East (26%) followed by South West (13%) then Greater London (11%)
• The top three causes of complaints were: ‘Communication & record keeping’, followed by ‘Marketing & advertising’ and ‘Instructions/terms of business/commission/termination’

Katrine Sporle, Property Ombudsman, said: “The number of agents joining TPO has grown by 82% in the last 5 years. 35,374 offices are now signed up and following our approved Codes of Practice. Importantly, these figures show that more and more consumers are able to access TPO to have their disputes resolved.

Being the largest government-approved property redress scheme does mean that we receive a commensurately large number of enquiries every year. In the vast majority of cases, those enquiries are dealt with satisfactorily through TPO intervention to facilitate early resolution between agents and consumers.

Last year, out of 16,265 enquiries, 3,304 complex complaints required formal review and, a high percentage of those complaints were supported (83%). Overall, this is good news for consumers and redress, but not so great for the reputation of agents who collectively paid out over £800,000 in awards.
My message for those agents is simple; pay more attention to TPO’s Codes of Practice and raise your standards.”

Russell Quirk, founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, commented on today’s results: “It’s almost becoming an estate agency tradition that every year the Property Ombudsman release their report on the industry and every year the poor practices of the high-street sector, in particular, results in an increase in complaints on the previous year.

The high-street sector is struggling in the current industry environment, to say the least, and despite being squeezed for market share by online and hybrid agents are only getting worse, rather than pivoting with the new age of estate agency and offering a better customer experience for a fairer price.

Luckily the customer now has a choice and thanks to websites such as TrustPilot and AllAgents, can separate the good from the bad based on reviews from real customers. That’s why at eMoov we concentrate on how we treat the customer not the money we gain and, our TrustPilot rating of 9.5 and our rank as number one agent out of 25,800 via AllAgents, is a testament to that.

Despite this positive evolution in the industry, selling or buying a home can occasionally be an expensive and sometimes fraught experience. The Government must now really step in and introduce licensing for all estate agents, in order to regulate against the bad guys, of which there seems to be many.”

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