OMBUDSMAN


Easily solved, but not easily resolved. Christopher Hamer, the Property Ombudsman reports on recent cases.


T •


he vast majority of complaints that I now see are complex and involve serious misunderstandings, miscommunication and almost


complete breakdown in relationship between complainants and agent. Such cases require a great deal of consideration by my case officer and involve comprehensive examination of the Complainant’s submission and agent’s branch file to determine whether the allegations made by the Complainant are founded or not. On occasion, however, I come across


a case which involves a dispute that perhaps could have been easily avoided, and resolved without my intervention, either by the agent taking a bit more care at the time of the events complained of or by recognising there was an issue where they clearly were at fault or had caused significant aggravation. These summaries fit that scenario:


No aNswer from the ageNt The Complainants, who were tenants,


complained that they were unable to contact the letting agent on their out of hours emergency telephone number when their water supply was cut off on a cold day in winter. They also complained that more than five weeks elapsed before they received a response to their letter of complaint. I supported both complaints and determined that the letting agent, having provided the Complainants with an emergency telephone number, should have ensured that this was operational at all times. The letting agent admitted that their mobile telephone used for this purpose had run out of credit. I was also critical of the letting agent’s failure to


48 OCTOBER 2010 PROPERTYdrum dirty marks oN the carpet • The Complainants were sellers who


‘They complained that five weeks had elapsed before they received a response to their complaint.’


acknowledge the Complainants’ letter of complaint within the timescale set out in the TPO Code of Practice. I made an award of £100.


UNaccompaNied viewiNgs • The Complainants in this case were


sellers and after a sale was agreed they agreed to the buyers viewing the property again accompanied by a member of the estate agent’s staff. The Complainants subsequently found that for a period of time the buyers were left alone in the property by the member of staff during which time they took photographs and made a video recording. I criticised the agent for failing to accompany the buyers throughout the viewing and made an award of £150.


complained that the agents had failed in their duty of care when conducting viewings. The Complainants complained that the agents had left the freezer door ajar during a viewing which resulted in damage to frozen food and failed to follow their instructions for everyone to remove their shoes during viewings which led to dirty marks on their carpet. The agent acknowledged these two complaints, apologised and offered £50 compensation and offered to clean the carpets. I upheld these complaints and awarded £50.


the wroNg NUmber • A prospective tenant complained that


a branch representative failed to attend a pre-arranged viewing appointment and failed to take down the Complainant’s telephone number correctly. The agent was unable to contact the prospective tenant to advise that circumstances had changed and the property was being let to another tenant. I supported the complaint to the extent that, as a measure of good practice, the agent should have taken steps to ensure that the Complainant’s telephone number was recorded accurately and that they were contacted. I made an award of £50.


The lesson to learn is that even a small failing in administration or lack of care, for example during a viewing, can escalate to a major dispute resulting, where relevant, in a direction from me to pay an award of compensation.


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