Reading estate agent expelled from The Property Ombudsman owing a landlord nearly £5000

A landlord, who instructed Concept Sales & Lettings on a Tenant Find Only basis, complained to TPO about referencing of a tenant and the tenant’s guarantor. 

The complaint was supported by the Ombudsman as the agent had not sought to verify the identification of the tenant’s guarantor which, had they done so, would have established that the signature on the form had been forged.

The Ombudsman considered that the referencing in this case was reckless as there was simply not enough information to determine whether the tenant or the guarantor could afford to pay the rent and the results of the referencing provider's credit score checks could not reasonably be relied on as the reports lacked sufficient detail.

The shortcomings in this case were severe; neither the tenant or the guarantor had been adequately referenced and there was no evidence that the landlord was aware of the significant risks involved when she accepted the tenant's tenancy application (i.e. she was not in a position to reach an informed decision as she had not been provided with the full facts).

The Ombudsman concluded that this situation was entirely avoidable. Had the agent complied with their relevant responsibilities, it is very unlikely that the landlord would now be in this position.

The complaint was supported and an award of £4,704.79 for the actual, proven financial losses the landlord had suffered as a direct consequence (court costs, rent arrears, legal costs etc) was made.

Concept Sales & Lettings failed to pay the award and The Ombudsman referred the agent to the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee, which ruled it should be expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme.  

Concept Sales & Lettings is not currently registered with a redress scheme, which is a requirement of every sales and letting agent in order to trade legally*.   They also do no not appear to be a member of a Client Money Protection scheme, also a legal requirement, do not have any professional memberships or advertise on the any of the main property portals, Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket. Concept Sales & Lettings has been referred to Trading Standards.

Gerry Fitzjohn, Non-Executive Director and Chairman of TPO’s Finance Committee: “As a member of TPO, agents are obliged to comply with awards made by the Ombudsman, which Concept Sales & Lettings has failed to do. It appears that this agent is no longer trading, which is frustrating for those complainants who are owed outstanding monies.  We would like to remind consumers to ensure they always use an agent which is a member of a redress scheme (The Property Ombudsman or The Property Redress Scheme) and holds Client Money Protection**.

*N.B. Every sales and lettings agent in England is required to register with a Government-approved redress scheme, which enables consumers to have their complaint reviewed independently in the event of a dispute arising that the consumer is unable to resolve with the agent directly.

An agreement between the two Government-approved redress schemes (The Property Ombudsman and The Property Redress Scheme, means Concept Sales & Lettings will not be able to register for any form of redress until the award is paid. Redress registration is required for the agents to trade legally.

**Full list of Client Money Protection schemes, is:
Money Shield, Client Money Protect, NALS Client Money Protection, Propertymark, RICS, UKALA Client Money Protection

ENDS

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NOTES TO EDITOR:

What is The Property Ombudsman?

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme offers an independent and impartial dispute resolution service to consumers who have been unable to resolve their disputes with a registered agent. The scheme was established in 1990. The Ombudsman can provide redress to place the consumer back in the position they were before the complaint arose, achieving a full and final settlement of the dispute and all claims made by either party. Where appropriate, the Ombudsman can make compensatory awards in individual cases up to a maximum of £25,000 for actual and quantifiable loss and/or for aggravation, distress and/or inconvenience caused by the actions of a registered agent.

TPO is funded through membership subscriptions and case fees and is free to all consumers.

At 31 December 2018 over 15,897 sales offices and 14,746 letting offices were registered with TPO.

Independence

Whilst TPO charges registered agents an annual subscription, the Ombudsman is accountable to the TPO Board which is chaired by a member of the House of Lords and with the majority of its members being independent from the industry.

The Ombudsman is not a regulator and does not have the authority to take regulatory or legal action against a registered agent.

Consumer Protection

Awards made by the Ombudsman in 2018 were paid by agents to consumers in 97% of cases. In the few cases where awards remain unpaid, agents are referred to the TPO Compliance Committee, which has the power to expel agents from the scheme. Expelled agents are reported to the appropriate authorities who have the power to ban agents from carrying out agency business.

If TPO becomes aware that an agent under investigation has ceased trading, complainants are promptly informed and, where an award is made, are provided with the necessary documentation to make a claim against that company. TPO’s agreement with the Property Redress Scheme, means that not only will expelled agents not be able to register for any form of redress, but any new company set up by the same directors will not be accepted for redress membership, until the Ombudsman’s award is paid.

Further information

The Ombudsman's Terms of Reference, Codes of Practice, Consumer Guides and other documents about the operation of the scheme are available on our website (www.tpos.co.uk), together with previous annual and interim reports, case summaries, further explanation of governance arrangements and a full list of registered agents.

For more information about TPO, please visit our website at www.tpos.co.uk .