Estate agent in Slough excluded from The Property Ombudsman for non-payment of award

A sales and lettings agent in Slough, Saville Park Ltd, has been excluded from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) for failing to pay an outstanding award of £300. The Property Ombudsman received a complaint from tenants relating to repairs and maintenance of their rental property, the provision of documentation, the end of tenancy procedures, provision of the landlord's details and complaints handling. The Ombudsman was not satisfied that Saville Park Ltd had met their obligations under paragraph 14b of the 2016 Lettings Code as she could not determine what actions the agent had taken when the tenants reported issues or that the agent had kept them updated. The Ombudsman was also unable to determine that the agent had provided statutory documentation prior to the start of the tenancy (required under Paragraph 11c of the Codes), was critical that the agent had not clarified the end of tenancy procedures as required and had not responded to the tenants’ complaint. Saville Park Ltd was also criticised for not responding to a formal request for the landlord's details which they should have done by law, and did not explain that the tenants were not entitled to this once the tenancy had ended. The Ombudsman considered that the issues raised had caused the tenants some avoidable aggravation and the complaint was supported with an award of £300. Saville Park Ltd failed to pay the award made and the Ombudsman referred them to the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee, which ruled that they should be excluded from The Property Ombudsman scheme. The Property Ombudsman has been unable to determine whether Saville Park Ltd is still trading or whether it holds CMP membership. The agent does not appear to be using any property portals, such as Rightmove or Zoopla. As part of TPO’s process, notification of this expulsion has been shared with all relevant bodies, including both Local and National Trading Standards. Gerry Fitzjohn, Non-Executive Director and Chairman of TPO’s Finance Committee: “As a member of TPO, agents are obliged to fulfil direction and comply with awards made by the Ombudsman, which Saville Park Ltdfailed to do. Whilst this is extremely frustrating for these tenants who have not received the compensation they deserved based on the shortcomings in the agent’s service, we would point out that of the thousands of awards made by TPO in consumers’ favour every year, less than 2% go unpaid. Most agents will fulfil their obligation to pay an award made by TPO. This is why it is imperative that consumers always use an agent which is a member of a redress scheme (The Property Ombudsman or The Property Redress Scheme) and holds Client Money Protection.” N.B. Every sales and lettings agent in England is required to register with a Government-approved redress scheme, which enables consumers to have their complaint reviewed independently in the event of a dispute arising that the consumer is unable to resolve with the agent directly.