The Property Ombudsman is to introduce 24/7 live chat on its website, aimed at enhancing the way consumer complaints are handled online.

The move follows a three-month pilot in which over 3,500 potential complaint enquiries were handled by live chat provider Yomdel.

Ombudsman Katrine Sporle said: “We’ve seen a rising level of complaints in recent times and currently receive between 14,000-16,000 enquiries every year, with around a quarter of these generating a serious complaint requiring formal review and judgment.

“Our decision to introduce an online help facility, and to partner with Yomdel in delivering this, has been hugely impactful – with customers able to obtain personal and expert advice and guidance quickly and efficiently.”

TPO said the number of enquiries increased by 27% in the first quarter of 2017 alone.

Andy Soloman, founder and CEO of Yomdel, said: “As the very first provider of managed live chat for UK estate agents, we’ve taken the model from a simple transactional-style to truly intelligent chat.

“We’re thrilled to be working alongside TPO, and using highly skilled operators to bring human interaction online, we deliver a fantastic digital customer experience.

“This helps TPO open up its dispute resolution earlier and to many more people, resulting in issues being positively resolved before they have a chance to escalate.

“We’re passionate about supporting our clients throughout every step of their own customers’ journeys, and the dispute resolution field is a core area.

“We’re also working alongside TPO on other initiatives to improve the way complaints are handled, and are hugely excited about what this may mean for the wider property industry and ombudsman services.”

Yomdel works with over 1,400 estate and letting agents to provide live chat.