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Written by rosalind renshaw

The Property Ombudsman has denied running a divisive two-tier membership system.

It strongly refutes that it treats as second-class citizens those agents who sign up only for registration rather than membership – despite charging exactly the same for both categories.

Registered agents say that it is almost impossible for members of the public to search on the Ombudsman site for them, to check out their credentials.

Registered agents cannot be searched on the main site, but are listed separately, by name only – which means that searchers have to know the name of the agent first. They cannot be searched by location. By contrast, agents who are members can be easily searched on the TPO website.

Basic registration, which costs £170 per branch plus VAT, is the minimum legal requirement under the Consumer Estate Agents Redress Act (CEARA).

Membership costs exactly the same as registration, but member agents – who can display the logos of both the TPO and Office of Fair Trading – must agree to stick to the TPO code. Registered agents do not have to commit to the code, but must work to ‘best practice’.

A spokesman for TPO said: “Agents who submit only the minimum registration with TPO are not members – they have opted not to sign up to the TPO Sales Code of Practice that members agree to.

“They are registered agents meeting the minimum required by CEARA so therefore are outside the member search area and are listed separately in alphabetical order.
 
“There is no second-class citizenship. If agents want to be listed as members, first they have to commit to the Sales Code of Practice and the standards it implies.

“The remedy is for registered agents to move up to full member status and feature in that list. There is a huge difference in the consumer protection member agents offer and they rightfully enjoy their own search engine facility.

“The vast majority – 97% – of firms listed on the TPO search engine are committed to those higher standards and the other 3% can easily join them by committing to the Code of Practice. It would be misleading to consumers to pretend that they have done so by adding them to the main list.”

Asked why the subscription rate for both basic registration and for membership was the same, the spokesman said: “CEARA registered agents and full members pay the same amount because they involve the same level of administration.”
 
Estate agent Trevor Kent, who has opted for registration status, said: “Surely the  CEARA Act requires agents to be ‘members of an approved redress scheme’, so how can the TPO say such agents are not ‘members’ when that is the service they are providing for the OFT?

“And surely the OFT should have something to say about a system that does not allow the public to search for compliantly registered firms by town?

“I would suggest it is unacceptable to have the name of the agent first, before the public can search for compliant firms, especially when agents are charged exactly the same sub whether registered or member by the TPO.

“I would also like to point out to readers that there is a competitor redress scheme https://www.ombudsman-services.org/property.html (supported by RICS and ARMA) fully open to all agents and who only charge £150.

“I also have difficulty in understanding how they can claim their cost of administering both types of adherence to be the same. It patently cannot be.”

Comments

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    They were 10 years back, pre numerous name changes, I dont think anyone bothers now, save the same ones that win their awards.

    • 06 December 2012 11:24 AM
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    Must say we have found the Ombudsman lacking of late and unwilling to remove comments by clients that we considered slanderous and untrue and taking several weeks to respond to a simple letter. Dissapointing for us as members.

    • 05 December 2012 15:57 PM
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    Must say we have found the Ombudsman lacking of late with terrible turn around times and unresponsive to its members despite numerous requests.

    • 05 December 2012 15:53 PM
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    I thought the home sale network was the most prestige to be members of

    • 05 December 2012 14:14 PM
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    Hawkeye, why would anyone want to pretend to be members of the Guild, hardly a plus is it?

    • 05 December 2012 13:38 PM
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    Oh dear just read the article! Sille arse. Not so hawkeyed today.

    • 05 December 2012 13:00 PM
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    Looks to me like big trev's been removed! Bit harsh maybe or is this part of big bruvva!

    Punters look us up on the big portals and not some obscure listing.

    We found one EA in this town saying he was amember of The Guild and turned out he wasn't. Nobody looked that one up except us who had an interest.

    • 05 December 2012 12:58 PM
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    Stop moaning just register, its not hard is it! It takes about the same time to read the story and post! Anyone moaning has to be thick or after attention!

    • 05 December 2012 12:29 PM
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    It's never aware that we could use the other ombudsman services. I will be changing to them next year

    • 05 December 2012 12:28 PM
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    Opps! Lucky you dont post using the same name every time because you have just made yourself look like a right twit.
    If you bothered to read the post, Big T is quoted in the article.

    Who did you say was sad?

    • 05 December 2012 12:15 PM
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    "Well said big Trev" where is his post?

    Only answer is he messed up? He Anon Coward and Rebel??? Has to be, how sad to post to yourself!!

    • 05 December 2012 11:35 AM
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    @Rebel

    100% Right

    • 05 December 2012 10:31 AM
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    They should not accept anyone who has not got Client Money Protection insurance in place otherwise they are a waste of time!

    • 05 December 2012 10:10 AM
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    Well said BIG Trev.

    Scrap the TPO - why do we have small claims courts?

    The UK is dying under mountians of bureacracy and regulation.

    @TPOemployees: Get a real job.

    • 05 December 2012 08:41 AM
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    Not sure I see the problem here.

    To all those registered agents complaining - sort your freaking lives out and stop whining. Become a full member, it can't hurt, not really, if you are good at your jobs and play fair with your customers...

    I appreciate that you may have no love for TPOS, but the alternative would be licensing (better in my opinion) and then you would be truly futzed! Yes?

    Moving on...

    • 05 December 2012 08:32 AM
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