Christopher Hamer
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Latest property news
Propertymark promises transparency over Christopher Hamer’s sudden departure
Trade association is keen to keep a lid on bad publicity after its three key executives announce their departure within weeks of each other.
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Latest property news
Propertymark to restructure as NAEA chief announces retirement
After seven years at the top of the NAEA, Mark Hayward is to retire at the end of the year prompting Propertymark to rearrange itself into a singe organisation.
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Movers & Shakers
Christopher Hamer joins NAEA and ARLA
The NAEA and ARLA have announced that Christopher Hamer will join the Associations as a Special Advisor. Having recently retired from nine years as The Property Ombudsman, Christopher is looking forward to using his experience to help develop proper practice in the property sector, through developing legislation and establishing best practice. He said, “I very much look forward to working with NAEA and ARLA. As Ombudsman, I always emphasised that the development of best practice in the property sector was an important commitment. Ensuring fair and consistent treatment of customers should be an aim of all agents, and keeping up to date with new legislation will make for greater consumer satisfaction across the industry.” Mark Hayward, MD, NAEA and David Cox, MD ARLA, said, “We are thrilled to bring Christopher on board as an advisor. He brings a unique skill set that we can use to continue campaigning for regulation and ensuring professionalism across the sector. The housing market is reaching critical point – and is very high on the political agenda at present, so Christopher’s appointment has come at a great time.”
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Associations & Bodies
All change at The Property Ombudsman Scheme
After 13 years with The Property Ombudsman (TPO) – 12 as TPO Board Chairman of TPO, Bill McClintock stands down on 1st January 2016 and Gerry Fitzjohn, currently Vice Chairman, takes up the position. At a reception at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Richard Best, guests, including The Negotiator’s Editorial Director, Sheila Manchester, celebrated Bill’s achievements of and those of Christopher Hamer, The Property Ombudsman, who is also retiring, having served the maximum nine-year term as Ombudsman. With 50 years experience in estate agency, Bill joined TPO as Chief Operating Officer in 2003, becoming Board Chairman in 2004. Bill (left) said, “When I joined, there were 769 firms with 4,251 offices registered with TPO. Figures now sit at 14,400 sales and 13,500 lettings offices – a significant change. One of my main achievements was encouraging the government to enact the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, which required all estate agents to register with an Ombudsman Scheme and to get the TPO Scheme approved by the Office of Fair Trading, considerable developments in the industry.” Gerry joined the TPO Board in 2000, from starting as a Sales Negotiator for Taylors in Stony Stratford in 1974 to National…
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Features
Multi-agency fees and fairness
This case study concerns a dispute referred to The Property Ombudsman (TPO) from a seller complainant concerned about the fee that the agent (Agent 1) charged upon the sale of the property. The complainant explained that Agent 1 charged a multi-agency fee, as the property had been marketed by another agent (Agent 2). The complainant stated that Agent 2 was not instructed market the property for sale, and had confirmed that any marketing carried out by them was in error. The complainant also alleged that Agent 1 gave no prior indication of their intention to charge a multi-agency fee and did not advise that Agent 2 also appeared to be marketing the property. Agent 1’s response was that the property was marketed by Agent 2 throughout the period in which they were instructed, and that, as per the terms of their Agency Agreement, a multi-agency rate commission fee was payable. The facts I began by explaining that no complaint had been brought against Agent 2, and therefore I was unable to consider their actions. For clarity, I understood that Agent 2 had been informally instructed in the sale of the property by the complainant’s parents in 2012. The parents at…
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Associations & Bodies
TPO announces new Property Ombudsman
Katrine Sporle CBE (left) will take up the role of Ombudsman at The Property Ombudsman, it has been announced. Sporle will start her new job on 1st November 2015, taking over from her predecessor Christopher Hamer (right), whose nine-year term comes to an end on 30th November. Previously, Sporle was Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales for eight years, which involved being responsible for all aspects of the Government Executive Agency, 1,000 members of staff and a £60million budget. She was directly answerable to Parliament and regularly reported to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (CLG), and the Minister for Housing and Planning in the National Assembly for Wales. She commented, “The scope for influence on the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of the nation as a whole was enormous, and exercised through impartiality of decision making to the highest level of professional expertise.” Prior to her role at the Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales, Sporle was Chief Executive of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for eight years, controlling an overall budget of in the region of £58 million. As the new Property Ombudsman, Sporle’s role will be to impartially review complaints…
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Latest property news
TPO expels another agent
West London estate agents Bruten & Co Limited has been expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) for a minimum of two years after failing to comply with parts of the Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents and failing to pay an Ombudsman’s award made of £768 to complainants. The decision to expel Bruten & Co, based in Notting Hill, from TPO membership came about following a complaint from prospective tenants who raised concerns about several elements of the firm’s level of service whilst applying to rent a home. The complaint had two parts. The first part, about the attempt to arrange a tenancy, consisted of three elements, two of which were upheld by the Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer. The second part, about handling of the prospective tenants’ complaint was also upheld. The tenancy agreement was sent to the prospective tenants with a significant extra term which was not in the offer form they had signed. But Bruten & Co refused either to amend the tenancy agreement or return the deposit and administration fees. The company also failed to clarify for the complainants how the utility bills for the property would be calculated. The agent declined to deal with…
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Associations & Bodies
Property Ombudsman Christopher Hamer to step down
The Property Ombudsman (TPO), Christopher Hamer, is to step down later this year, it has been announced. He will be leaving office on 30th November 2015 after completing the maximum nine years that he is allowed to serve as Ombudsman. Mr Hamer (left) said, “I have been in the post for many years, have enjoyed it immensely and found working with all the various stakeholder organisations and individuals most rewarding. I don’t have any particular plans at this stage post 30th November but I do hope that in some way I will be able to contribute to developments in the property sector. I hope the next Property Ombudsman finds it as enjoyable and rewarding as I did and I would like to wish them the best of luck.” The independent TPO Council together with the TPO Board Chairman, Bill McClintock (right), have already begun the search to fill the position. Mr McClintock said, “Christopher has been a highly effective Ombudman during a time when the scheme has expanded enormously. Both those working with him and in the industry will miss him greatly.” Meanwhile, Malcolm Cannon, the Chief Executive of lettings agency at Braemore, has been appointed to the board of…
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Features
When is a deal a conflict of interest?
Christopher Hamer, The Property Ombudsman, discusses the risks.
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Features
Handling complaints
As The Property Ombudsman I see many complaints referred to me because the complainant feels, justifiably or not, that the agent has not understood or addressed their concerns in the manner they were expecting. Sections 13 and 15 of the TPO Sales and Lettings Codes of Practice set out the in-house complaint procedure all registered firms are required to have in place. These rules are designed to enable agents to manage the complaint from the day it is received to the point it is either resolved or referred to my office. During my six years as Ombudsman, many agents have informed me of their success in resolving disputes early, without referral to me, by acting in accordance with the Codes of Practice. Indeed, approximately 88 per cent of the enquiries received go on to be dealt with by the agents themselves. However, I still see numerous cases where, had the agent dealt with the matter in the appropriate way, the complainant’s grievances would have been resolved at a much earlier stage and often without my intervention. My Initial Enquires team is the first point of contact for potential complainants. Their role is to establish if and when a complaint has…
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