The Property Ombudsman is to give agents new guidance on dual fees, following a surge in complaints from the public.
In 2017, TPO received 32 cases relating to dual commission fees; last year it received over 50 cases highlighting this as a growing issue.
A TPO industry forum - chaired by board vice-chairman Michael Stoop, and including industry representatives from outside the Ombudsman’s office - has received a presentation on the dual fees issue from Alison Farrar, an investigator for the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team.
As a result, a statement from TPO says: “It was agreed that transparency to the seller at every stage of the process is required and agents need to highlight the circumstances where dual fees could become due if a seller decides to use a second agent.
“Because of the level of detail in a contract, many consumers fail to read and understand all of the information outlined, one solution is to highlight essential information on page one such as, where a seller may be liable for a dual fee.
“Further work will be undertaken by TPO on the issue to provide clear guidance with case study examples.”
The Michael Stoop-led industry forum is one of two set up by TPO in recent months; the other is the Consumer Forum, chaired by Mark McLaren, an independent TPO board member, previously of Which?
The purpose of both bodies is, in the words of a TPO statement, “to facilitate discussion and debate around specific issues which could result in consumer detriment, and consider ways, wherever possible, to eliminate these through guidance, best practice and/or changes to TPO’s Codes of Practice.”
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
I don't see the issue. Its nobody else's business what incentives we receive and what fees we charge except ours. The only fees clients should worry about are the ones they're paying.
Please login to comment