Complaints about estate agents and letting agents are on the
rise despite the slowdown in the property market, the Property
Ombudsman has said.
The Ombudsman received around 129 calls a week about letting
agents during the three months to the end of September, well up on
the 77 inquiries received each week during the same period of
2008.
Overall, 1,679 people contacted the service after having
problems with a letting agent during the period, the highest level
since letting agents were first able to join the scheme in June
2006.
The main cause of disputes was landlords saying letting agents
had failed to make adequate checks on tenants' references, while
they also claimed inspection visits were not being carried out
frequently enough.
Potential tenants also complained that it had not been made
clear to them that they would lose their holding deposit if they
decided not to go ahead with renting a property.
The high volume of inquiries led to a 79% jump in the number of
cases involving letting agents which were investigated by the
Ombudsman during the third quarter, with these rising to 127, up
from 71 in the third quarter of 2008.
Many of the inquiries were not investigated, as consumers were
told they needed to take the matter to the letting agent first,
while in some cases people were ringing for advice on how they
should proceed.
The Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, also reported a rise in the
number of cases about estate agents that he investigated as the
property market began to pick up again.
There was a 17% jump in cases involving property sales, rising
from 104 in the second quarter to 122, although cases were still
32% lower than a year ago, reflecting the subdued level of
transactions.
Many of the complaints about estate agents related to the
depressed market, with homeowners complaining about being asked to
pay for Home Information Packs when their property had not sold, or
being liable for dual fees after switching agents in the slow
market.
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