Awards

What to expect when an award is accepted

Upon receipt of a complainant's acceptance we will write to advise you accordingly. In accordance with the Ombudsman’s Terms of Reference we will ask that you make payment within 28 days. If the complainant has asked that the award be paid by bank transfer, we will ask that they contact you direct to provide their account details (for data protection reasons we are unable to pass these on for them).

We will request that you inform us when the award has been paid, so that we may close the case.

If there are outstanding fees or invoices, the award will only become payable if these have been settled in full within 14 days of the complainant's acceptance of the Ombudsman’s decision and award. Alternatively, they are able to offset the award against the monies owed.

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How should the award be paid?

Unless we have received any specific instruction from the complainant regarding payment of the award, then this should be sent directly to them within 28 days.

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What if I do not pay the award?

Failure to make payment will be reported to The Compliance Committee of the Property Ombudsman Board. They will consider your non-compliance and determine any disciplinary action in accordance with its terms of reference.

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Can the complainant accept the award and still go to court?

If the complainant accepts our decision, they do so in full and final settlement of all the complaints upon which we have made a formal judgement. Therefore, we would not then expect them to pursue the matter any further. 

However, the complainant is free to pursue their complaint through the courts if they have rejected our findings or if we were unable to come to a judgment on the matters alleged within the complaint that they considered.