Early Resolution Case Studies
EARLY RESOLUTION – MARKETING ISSUES
The Sellers submitted a complaint to us following their Agent acknowledging their request to stop marketing the property but failing to remove it from a number of portals for a period of two months.
They were seeking compensation for the inconvenience this had caused and were concerned that the Agent had not removed the listing in an attempt to generate more enquiries.
Our Resolution Officer contacted the Agent who explained that soon after confirming the Sellers’ request, the branch had to close due to Covid and the member of staff dealing with the sale had then left the business. This resulted in the action to remove the property being overlooked. The Agent then provided details of their communications with the Sellers where they had acknowledged their oversight and, as a result, had offered an apology and a financial goodwill gesture.
Considering the Agent’s response to be reasonable in the circumstances, the Resolution Officer discussed the situation with the Sellers where it was explained that this appeared to be a genuine mistake and not an attempt by the Agent to generate more enquiries. The Sellers accepted the Resolutions Officer’s view and agreed that the apology and goodwill offer where appropriate in the circumstances.
EARLY RESOLUTION – LOCKED OUT
After conducting a scheduled inspection, the Agent checked both locks ensuring the property was secure before leaving. Unfortunately, this resulted in the Tenant being locked out of their flat as they had only been provided with the key to one of the locks. Furthermore, as it was out of office hours when the Tenant returned, they had to seek alternative arrangements with a friend for the night. They contacted the Agent the next day who unlocked the door. The Tenant subsequently submitted a complaint to us, claiming compensation which included a day’s rent and costs for out-of-pocket expenses.
Our Resolution Officer contacted the Agent who immediately accepted their error and explained that had not realised that the Tenant didn’t have the keys for both locks. They had therefore cut an additional key for the Tenant to use going forward. The Agent also provided details of the apology and goodwill offer made to the Tenant which included the cost of the Tenant and their friend’s evening meal, but not the day’s rent reduction they were seeking.
Considering the Agent’s apology and offer to be reasonable in the circumstances, our Resolution Officer discussed the situation with the Tenant. The Tenant subsequently accepted that their claim for a reduction of a day’s rent plus out-of-pocket expenses was slightly excessive and agreed that the apology, additional key and compensation for the cost of the evening meal for two people was appropriate and acceptable.
EARLY RESOLUTION - SERVICE CHARGE ERROR
The leaseholder had received a service charge invoice from the management company who had ceased managing the site a year before. After attempting to contact the management company unsuccessfully they raised a formal complaint, but after no response the Leaseholder contacted us for assistance.
Our resolution officer managed to contact the management company, who explained that the person the complaint was addressed to had left the company, that their replacement was on leave and that they had ceased managing the site, hence the complaint had not been responded to.
We explained that as a TPO member they were required to respond appropriately to the complaint and that their failure to do so would mean that an award would be made against them should the case be considered by an adjudicator. The management company then agreed to issue an apology, respond to the complaint and provide confirmation that the charges were issued in error. Unfortunately, their response failed to address all of the concerns raised by the leaseholder. As a result, our resolution officer got back in contact to explain that their further complaint handling failures were likely to generate an additional award should an adjudicator consider the case. The agent accepted their further shortcomings and agreed to offer the leaseholder a financial goodwill gesture which the resolution officer considered to be reasonable in the circumstances.
The offer was subsequently accepted by the leaseholder, resolving the dispute.