The UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) has chosen Ombudsman Services as its preferred redress provider.
UKALA, which says it has 500 members, are already required to have a complaints handling procedure, ahead of a requirement as part of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act which will mean that all letting agents must belong to a government approved property redress scheme.
This requirement is expected to be enacted later this year.
UKALA, part of the National Landlords Association, is the latest second trade organisation to appoint Ombudsman Services as a preferred supplier rather than The Property Ombudsman. The two have very different charging models.
Ombudsman Services already provides an alternative resolution scheme for the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS).
Lewis Shand Smith, chief ombudsman, said: “We are delighted that UKALA has recognised the value and quality of our model of independent redress and are proud to be providing the dispute resolution service for them.”
Richard Price, UKALA executive director, said: “Access to an independent ombudsman service is essential for an open and accountable property sector.
“UKALA takes very seriously the level and quality of service that it provides to its members and we are very happy to be using Ombudsman Services to provide an independent service to support our existing complaints procedures, subject to its approval as a redress scheme by the DCLG.”
Beware Ombudsman Services! I have had two dealings with them on behalf of clients and they are not up to scratch, in my opinion. The residential property industry is only a small part of what they deal with. The energy industry is part of their portfolio, for example. On the two cases I was involved in, it was clear that their knowledge of estate agency legislation and practice was weak. Also, if you are involved with chartered surveyors, Onmbudsman Services refer to the Blue Book which is vaguer than the Property Ombudsman's code of Practice. OS are meant to follow PO's best practice to fill in any gaps, but I am yet to be convinced that they do. Cheaper maybe, but you get what you pay for!
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