The Property Ombudsman Launches Earlybird Tickets for its 2020 ‘Raising Standards’ Conference
Following feedback from this year’s conference, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has announced that its 2020 conference, taking place on 18 June at The National Conference Centre in Solihull, will have a strong focus on legislative change, technical advice and best practice guidance.
Earlybird tickets are available from today until 31 January 2020.
Highlights of TPO’s 2020 ‘Raising Standards’ Conference are:
- Double the number of ‘Ombudsman’ workshops with different case studies for each session
- Expanded Agent Advice Area offering one-to-one clinics
- Sector and legislative updates from leading industry professionals
- An expert panel discussing the impact of changes on the sector
- 4 Hours CPD (Continuous Professional Development)
Ombudsman Katrine Sporle comments: “As Lord Richard Best said at our last conference, regulation is coming and the future success of agents will be down to their own adoption of the new regulations. We want to help agents to be informed, educated, prepared and compliant, so over the next eight months we will be building our conference programme around professional practice and potential changes which will impact the sector.”
Earlybird tickets for TPO’s 2020 Conference Raising Standards are available now at the following rates:
- Earlybird TPO Member Price - £95 + VAT (increasing to £109 + VAT from 1st February)
- Earlybird Non-Member Price - £110 + VAT (increasing to £135 + VAT from 1st February)
To tickets, click here NOW
ENDS
For press information, please contact:
The Inhouse Way
Tel: 01276 804411
Helen Evison: 07920 516 577
Holly Addinall: 07979 537 334
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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