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Press Releases 2005
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New approval scheme for Estate Agents give public greater protection from malpractice
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Landmark year for the OEA
'It’s been a landmark year,' is how OEA chairman Bill McClintock summarised 2005 for the Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme.
The year started with the OEA recruiting its 1,000th member firm, Fry and Kent, of Portsmouth. And it has ended with 1,076 members and the announcement that the OEA now has more than 5,000 offices in the scheme following Reeds Rains joining.
In between, this autumn saw OFT stage II approval granted to the OEA Code of Practice, meaning that the OEA has the highest recognition possible for the standards it imposes on member agents.
'The year started on a high note with Fry and Kent joining and it has ended on a high note with Reeds Rains bringing its 130 offices into the scheme following the company’s acquisition by Your Move,' said Mr. McClintock.
'OEA now has 5,022 offices under its auspices which is good news for consumers. It means that getting on for 50 per cent of estate agency outlets in the England and Wales are covered by the scheme.
'This number will expand significantly in April next year following the decision by the National Association of Estate Agents council to rule that principals, partners, and directors who are NAEA members must be covered by the OEA scheme.
'All this follows a year of significant OEA membership growth during 2004. I believe that the OEA Scheme is now recognised by many more agents and consumers whilst continuing to grow stronger each year.'
For further information, please contact:
Stephen Carr-Smith, Ombudsman
Tel: 01722 333 306
Fax: 01722 332 296
Email: admin@tpos.co.uk
Which? is 'off target'
The Ombudsman for Estate Agents organisation believes the criticisms voiced by Which? concerning the OFT’s decision to grant the OEA scheme Stage 2 approval are misconceived, and based on misleading and wrong information.
Bill McClintock, Chairman of the OEA Board, said today: 'The Stage 2 approval is not, we believe, lightly given; the OEA has been working closely with the OFT for many months and we believe its decision to grant the scheme Stage 2 approval has been based on a thoroughly well-founded and accurate knowledge of our scheme.
'We believe that Which?’s attitude is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the whole purpose of the Ombudsman Scheme and that it is firing at the wrong target.
'Our function is to provide a free, fair and completely independent hearing to buyers and sellers of residential property who have complaints about estate agents who are members of our scheme. Every year, hundreds of complainants make use of our scheme, which can provide financial redress of up to £25,000 in any case.
'Our Code of Practice, which all members of the Scheme agree to abide by, is regularly updated every three years. It is the benchmark against which complaints are judged, and is also, we believe, a positive force for improving standards in the sector.
Note for Editors: The OEA and its Board have, since May 2005, been formally pursuing a complaint through Which’s own disputes procedure, following a previous article and press release published by the organisation. They are currently awaiting the organisation’s final decision before considering possible legal action.
New approval scheme for Estate Agents give public greater protection from malpractice
The Ombudsman for Estate Agents’ (OEA) code of practice, to which all member agents must adhere, has received the full backing of the Office of Fair Trading, which has now granted it Stage II approval.
The scheme allows the public greater protection from malpractices by estate agents than ever before and can mean any member agent can be struck off from the scheme by OEA if they fail to adhere to the code of practice.
Agents who have signed up to the scheme will be able to display the OFT’s Approved Code logo alongside the Ombudsman’s logo.
OEA chairman Bill McClintock said: 'This is a big step forward for the consumer as it means they will have free access to independent redress when using OEA estate agents who will have to adhere to a strict code of practice.
'For member agents this also means that once they have signed up to the OEA scheme they will be entitled to use the OFT Approved code logo alongside our familiar OEA logo. Members will also be listed on the OFT website.
'We have set up an estate agency monitoring system, which is operated by a third party organisation to ensure complete independence. So far this scheme has been well received by the majority of agents. We have had feedback from over 7,000 individual consumers.
'We are striving to improve standards with residential estate agency so consumers are better protected. This is the reason why the Ombudsman was set up in the first place and the approval by the OFT of the Code of practice is a big step forward,' said Mr McClintock.
Although the Ombudsman’s scheme is a voluntary one, around 40% of all estate agency branches in the UK have joined-up. This number looks set to expand to around 75% once the board of the NAEA finally approves OEA membership as compulsory for all their members.
Bill McClintock added: 'The result is that members of the public can use OEA members with renewed confidence that they will receive outstanding service from the best companies in the industry. Any complaints will be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Our advice is that the public should not deal with agents who have not signed-up to our scheme.'
Notes to editors:
For further information please contact Maurice Hardy on 01264 771661
OFT approval of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Code of Practice has been received in time for the public launch on October 5th 2005.
The Ombudsman for Estate Agents is a limited not-for-profit company that is self-funding and is totally independent. Under its powers it aims to resolve the disputes between member agents and clients and can make financial rewards to consumers.
Contact: Bill McClintock, chairman OEA Ltd, which administers the Ombudsman’s Scheme. Tel: 01722 333306.
