The industry regulator together with The Property Ombudsman have launched a survey on referral fees, giving agents just one week to give their feedback.

The National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team and TPO want to assess awareness among, and uptake by, agents of guidance around referral fees linked to property buying and selling.

However, the survey has come under fire as it have proved impossible to complete on portable devices such as iPads, with users reporting that they have been unable to select the answers.

The survey also seems inconsistent in that respondents who say that they receive fees but do not declare them or the amounts to both buyers and sellers, are then told they have missed answering how they disclose their fees.

Another flaw appears to be that the survey can also be answered more than once, by the same user on the same computer.

The new industry guidance on referral fees was launched last year. It outlines how estate agents should inform consumers of any referral fees they receive for recommending a service such as conveyancing.

The aim of the guidance – which is voluntary – is to improve transparency in the estate agency sector as part of the Government’s stated aim to improve the home buying and selling process.

The Government has said that unless the industry voluntarily cleans up its act, it will ban referral fees.

Estate agents should complete the survey by February 17.

James Munro, head of NTSELAT, said: “It’s been just over a year since we launched our industry guidance on transparency of referral fees during the home buying and selling process.

“We’ve been monitoring compliance with the guidance during this period, but are keen to hear feedback directly from estate agents themselves. This will inform our understanding around compliance and identify how effectively the guidance helps protect consumers.”

Ombudsman Katrine Sporle said: “The industry is very much aware that the Government is concerned about transparency and wants consumers to be able to make informed choices.

“The results of this survey will provide an indication of how agents have adapted their procedures.”

The guidance on referral fees was produced by the National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team with assistance from NAEA Propertymark, the Property Ombudsman, Property Redress Scheme, the Guild of Property Professionals and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

It is available to download here.