Chris
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Nov 1, 2007, 9:52 PM
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Consumer redress and estate agents
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Source HM Government
Newsletter Issue 24 1st November 2007
Home Information Pack legislation means that estate agents in England and Wales marketing homes for sale with HIPs are required to belong to an approved redress scheme for HIP-related complaints. From 10 September this has applied to all homes marketed with three or more bedrooms. Douglas Taylor of the HIP Programme Team explains…
Approved redress schemes will be able to deal with a range of complaints about estate agents relating to their acts or omissions in relation to a HIP (including the giving of advice as to whether such a Pack is required) and award redress where complaints are upheld. In addition, administrators of approved redress schemes will have to pass information regarding misconduct of estate agents to Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading, which has the option of conducting a fitness test, which could lead to a ban, if it deems this to be appropriate.
On 26 October the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) approved a third HIPs redress scheme run by IDRS Ltd, the independent dispute resolution service provider. The scheme is known as PACS and will launch formally on 1 December 2007. IDRS are now accepting applications from estate agents for membership. Further information is available on the PACS website.
This follows approval earlier in the year of a scheme run by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) and The Surveyors Ombudsman Scheme run by the The Ombudsman Service Ltd (TOSL) for RICS members.
For further information on consumer redress against estate agents click here
Chris DEA
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