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Complaints Regarding Estate Agents Remain High

Wed, 25 Mar 2009
The number of complaints made against Britain’s estate agents has remained 'surprisingly high' despite the housing market slump, an industry expert has revealed.

According to the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA), Christopher Hamer, the volume of property sales disputes dealt with by his office fell by just 3 per cent during 2008, despite the number of sales dropping by as much as 60 per cent.

Mr Hamer said the discrepancy between the number of complaints and the sales decline suggests that "buyers and sellers still have higher expectations of agents' service while there are so few properties being sold".

The OEA received 1,034 new complaints over the course of 2008, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year and a 78 per cent rise on 2006, according to Mr Hamer.

He added that complaints were upheld in 65 per cent of cases and the amount of compensation awarded amounted to more than £385,000, with the majority of payouts between £100 and £499.

However, one unnamed estate agent as forced to make a record £23,880 payout to a complainant after it was ruled that conflicting advice had been given by staff and the agents in question "failed to act in the best interest of the client or negotiate effectively".

The maximum award the OEA can make under scheme rules is £25,000.
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