Estate agents complaints on the rise
More than 8,000 complaints from customers regarding their estate agent were recorded in 2006, the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) reports. The complaints, caused largely by administration problems with sale and purchase details along with customer's general distrust of estate agents, saw a year-on-year rise of more than a third â€" 2005 saw a total of 6,021 complaints registered with the OEA. Although the official report will only be made available on May 23rd, Chris Hamer, head of the OEA service, warned that the stresses and strains of buying and selling property, along with the hefty financial costs, made customers more inclined to register their unhappiness."I think possibly it's down to people being less ready to be satisfied with something which they perceived as poor service â€" given the size of the financial commitment that they're taking on by buying a house," Mr Hamer said.With the rise of independent property websites, the OEA also fears that continuing poor service and mistrust of traditional estate agents will cause customers to switch to the new alternative. "There's a lot of inherent stress in the process of buying and selling houses and if something goes wrong then they're actually an easy target for people to say: 'You've disadvantaged me in some way'," he added.
Share this..
Related stories
George Osborne wary of union fight back
As George Osborne gets ready to deliver the most severe UK budget in 30 years, the UK government is ever more aware that unions are waiting on the sidelines looking for an excuse to ballot members for strike action. As a consequence there will inevitably be more strikes in the second half of 2010 as David Cameron and George Osborne look to push through the £60 billion in cost savings. But can the...
Read MoreGovernment under attack after changes at UKFI
The UK government is tonight under attack after the chairman of the UK Financial Investments body, which is predominantly there to protect taxpayer interests in the banking sector, left. Glen Moreno had only been in the position for just over one month when he refused to take the role on a permanent basis. Many believe that his alleged connections with the Liechtenstein tax haven ultimately led t...
Read MoreConservative party embarrassed by non-domicile revelation
Zac Goldsmith, the son of serial entrepreneur Sir James Goldsmith, will be standing in Richmond Park and North Kingston as a Conservative party candidate. However, the Tory party has been dragged into a non-domicile situation with the revelation that Zac Goldsmith, while paying his relevant taxes in the UK, actually has a non-domicile status. Those who follow the political scene would be well a...
Read MoreNationwide increase mortgage tracker rates
Those who have followed the UK financial rescue package closely will know that one of the conditions of the deal was the fact that UK base rate reductions would be passed onto the consumer immediately. Well, if the Nationwide is anything to go by this is not happening as yet with increases in their low deposit and higher deposit tracker mortgages.
When you consider these moves in t...
Report: Unfair council tax must be reformed
Council tax systems in England and Wales are unfair on local communities and must be urgently reformed, an influential report has concluded.The independent review of local government by Sir Michael Lyons, professor of public policy at Birmingham University, recommends that council tax bands be rebalanced to reflect changes in property prices.Ahead of today's Budget announcement from Gordon Brown,...
Read More