Complaints against estate agents still high, despite fall in market activity

Posted: 18 Mar 2009 10:08:47 GMT

Even though the number of properties being bought and sold has fallen over recent months, complaints made against estate agents has remained 'surprisingly high', it has been revealed.

According to the latest report issued by the ombudsman for estate agents, Christopher Hamer, while sales have dropped by as much as 60 per cent, the number of complaints being made about the profession has fallen by a mere three per cent.

The report also reveals that Mr Hamer received 1,034 new complaints over the course of 2008, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year, with 65 per cent of these being judged in favour of the buyer or seller rather than the estate agent.

Explaining the discrepancy between the rate of decline of sales and that of complaints, Mr Hamer stated: "Perhaps it shows that buyers and sellers have still higher expectations of agents' service while there are so few properties being sold."

Just under £400,000 was paid out by estate agents to complainants over the past 12 months, with the average payout being under £500, though 2008 also saw the ombudsman order one firm to pay a record £28,500 to a customer after it was ruled that the agents in question "failed to act in the best interest of the client or negotiate effectively".


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