The Property Ombudsman
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Features
Tenants with lifestyle flaws
Unfortunately, being in the oldest profession in the world does not make a model tenant… says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Features
In The Red
When a tenant doesn’t pay the rent, is it really the letting agent’s fault? Not necessarily, says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Latest property news
Property Ombudsman launches new portal for agents to monitor complaints
Salisbury-based The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has promoted its Casework Director Jane Erskine to the role of Deputy Ombudsman and launched a new online portal to enable agents and consumers to review cases as they proceed. Jane’s promotion is part of a reorganisation at TPO that Katrine Sporle, the Property Ombudsman, says are part of efforts to provide a “streamlined service that puts the consumer at the heart of the process”. Durham University education Jane (pictured, left) joined TPO as a case officer in 2007 after a nine-year stint working in private practice specialising in wills, conveyancing and probate, and has risen through the TPO ranks. In 2010 she was promoted to Senior Case Officer at the property dispute resolution organisation before rising to Casework Director two years later. She is a regular fixture on the property speaking circuit including at several regional NAEA conferences and masterclasses. Key to the TPO’s reorganisation is a new online portal that Katrine says will “transform the way the scheme reviews complaints by allowing agents and consumers to review live case updates, with additional functions for agents who will soon be able to renew their membership and update their contact systems at the click of a…
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Features
Liability for search results
What if a search fails to mention land earmarked for a new town, asks Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman?
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Features
‘Auctions must be accurate on the internet’ says Ombudsman
Telephone bidding at auction may seem easier, but it brings extra responsibilities to both the buyer and the agent, says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Latest property news
Are Swansea and Dorset agents worst at displaying letting fees?
The Property Ombudsman Katrine Sporle has revealed that the enforcement letters sent to TPO member agents in Dorset and Swansea last week requiring them to prove they are clearly displaying fees details targeted these areas first because it had found that 50% of letting agents within them were not compliant. Her comments came during her speech at The Negotiator Conference in London earlier this week. The letter (see link below) strikes a new and relatively aggressive tone compared to previous efforts and is a taste of what’s to come for agents elsewhere in the UK. TPO says the campaign is national and that the letters are being rolled out region by region in a phased approach. The next roll-out is due to be revealed. In a nutshell, the letter requires TPO members to provide an image of their fees on display in the branch and a web link and image to demonstrate where their fees are displayed on their website. “Agents in Swansea and Dorset have until 21st November to provide evidence and any agent that fails to do so will be referred to Trading Standards,” a TPO spokesperson told The Negotiator. The campaign is being conducted in partnership with the…
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Features
The curious story of the dog and the licence…
In the curious story of the dog and the licence, the agent was the one in the doghouse, says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Latest property news
32% more complaints resolved by The Property Ombudsman in 2015
As several hundred agents gather for The Property Ombudsman’s second annual conference in Birmingham today, the TPO has revealed that the number of complaints it resolved during 2015 increased by 32% compared to the year before. TPO says this is mostly down to the high number of agents joining its scheme during 2015 after membership of one of the three schemes became mandatory following legislative changes in 2014. TPO is now the largest of the redress schemes with 35,374 member branches and, over the past five years, it has seen membership grow by 82%. Katrine says that during 2015 TPO received 16,265 enquiries from the public about sales and letting agents and resolved 3,304 complaints (up 32% on 2014) including 1,955 complaints about letting agents (up 33%) and 1,220 complaints about sales agents (up 27%). The largest number of complaints came from agents’ clients such as landlords and sellers and the most common complaints in lettings were about poor management, communication and record keeping, and end of tenancy issues. A majority of complaints about sales agents concerned communication and record keeping as well as marketing and advertising issues and terms of business disputes. “Overall, this is good news for consumers and…
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Features
Is the customer always right?
Redress schemes exist to safeguard consumer rights, but, says Joanne Christie, the agent is not, you’ll be pleased to hear, always in the wrong.
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Latest property news
Trading Standards backs TPO stance on portal juggling
The National Trading Standards Agency Estate Agency Team (NTSEAT) has waded into the issue of portal juggling with a resounding thumbs up for The Property Ombudsman’s imminent changes to its guidance. James Munro, who leads the NTSEAT, today said that he welcomed the TPO’s new guidance, which will be published on Saturday. It is likely to prevent TPO member agents from misleading consumers by removing and re-listing homes on property portals, enabling them to hide price cuts and make properties appear new to the market when they are not. Munro said he believes many agents do this to “manipulate sales figures” and that the new TPO guidelines could, he says, “lead to a ruling by the Ombudsman and also referral to enforcement agencies such as NTSEAT and local trading standards authorities”. “Such referrals could lead to prohibition orders or prosecution,” he added, and that “we will continue to work closely with industries bodies to stop this unfair practice, which misleads prospective homebuyers and harms honest estate agents who conduct their business in a fair and professional way.” One agent The Negotiator spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous, pointed out that although “unscrupulous”, it was a practice created in part…
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