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…