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How to complain to The Property Ombudsman

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One of the most important factors when choosing a cash home buyer is to choose one that’s a member of The Property Ombudsman (TPO). We cannot emphasise this strongly enough, as it can be your only form of protection against the dodgy practices and poor service that are rife in the cash home buying sector.

TPO membership is a mandatory requirement for membership of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). However you don’t have to be an NAPB member to join The Property Ombudsman.

But what exactly is The Property Ombudsman, how and when can you make a complaint, and what can they offer if you do complain?

Table of Contents

We have independently investigated a wide range of companies to find the best cash home buyers in the UK. We analysed each one based on their cash offers, reliability, customer service and a wide range of other metrics.

Very few companies made the grade, offering a genuine cash offer, without contracts and without any fees. And very few met our high standards for service, putting the customer first.

The good news is that we did find some open, honest and genuine cash homebuyers out there who get our seal of approval by offering:

  • A genuine cash price for your home
  • Proof of funds to buy with
  • Completion in just 14 days (or anytime to suit you)
  • Membership of a recognised redress scheme
  • No contract to sign
  • No last-minute price reductions

Click the get a quote button below to see what you could get for a quick cash sale from a Property Sale Watchdog approved cash homebuying company..

Summary

  • The Property Ombudsman is a free, independent resolution and redress scheme
  • You should always try to resolve your dispute with your cash buyer first
  • The Property Ombudsman may make an award for financial compensation
  • These awards may be up to £25,000 but are normally closer to £500
  • The Property Ombudsman’s decisions are final and binding
  • Only cash house buyers who are registered with TPO offer this kind of protection

What is The Property Ombudsman?

The Property Ombudsman is an independent body providing alternative dispute resolution and redress between the property sector and its customers. This includes the cash house buying sector, which is otherwise largely unregulated.

TPO is not a regulator and cannot bring legal action against businesses or tell them how to operate. However, members have agreed to let TPO mediate in disputes, offer impartial resolution, and where appropriate, set out the terms of any financial compensation due. Members agree to be bound by the TPO’s decisions.

Essentially, the TPO is a third party who can consider both sides of a dispute and come to an impartial decision on the rights and wrongs of the issue. Their rulings are final and binding for both you and the property buyer, and they can include compensatory awards of up to £25,000 (although this level of award is extremely rare).

TPO is not a government body, but it is government approved. It is also approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. You can check whether a cash house buyer is a member of The Property Ombudsman here.

What can I complain to The Property Ombudsman about?

The Property Ombudsman will consider complains that meet the criteria listed under its Terms of Reference. These include:

  • A breach of legal obligations
  • A breach of TPO code of practice
  • Unfair treatment
  • Maladministration or service failure

These issues must have caused either a financial loss or ‘aggravation, distress and/or inconvenience’ to you as the customer.

All cash house buying members of The Property Ombudsman agree to follow the TPO Code of Conduct for Residential Property Buying Companies. Arbitration will be provided based on this code. If, for any reason, a company does not agree to the Code of Conduct, judgements will be made based on what is considered fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

Before you make a complaint to TPO

As part of the TPO code of practice, member companies are required to have a published complaints procedure that includes timescales for their response.

You cannot involve The Property Ombudsman until you have given the cash house buyer the opportunity to set things right themselves. This is only fair and reasonable. You should always endeavour to resolve your problem directly with the company first. Using The Property Ombudsman should be seen as a last resort.

You can only escalate your complaint to TPO if you have already gone through the internal complaints procedure and are still unsatisfied. You can also turn to TPO if your complaint has been persistently ignored or if a response has not been received within eight weeks of your initial complaint.

How to complain to your cash house buyer

You need to tell the cash house buyer why it is that you’re unhappy and what you want them to do about it. You then need to give them time to consider their response. Complaints should always be made in writing. To help you out, there is an initial complaints letter template on the TPO website.

Your cash house buyer is obliged to respond promptly to your complaint, within the timescale they set out in their complaints procedure. 

They may make you an offer at this stage in order to resolve the dispute quickly. You are not obliged to accept this offer, but you should bear in mind that settlement offers will lapse if you decide to involve TPO. 

You should consider any settlement offer very carefully as you may not be awarded as much as part of a TPO settlement, and if your complaint is not upheld, or an award is not made, the cash house buyer is not obliged to reinstate their original offer.

What if I can’t reach a settlement with my cash house buyer?

If the dispute cannot be resolved directly with the company, then you should ask them for a final viewpoint letter. This sets out their position regarding your complaint. You can then ask The Property Ombudsman to mediate the dispute.

You should make sure you have evidence of all of your correspondence with the company you are complaining about. For example, send all complaint letters by registered post and make sure your email has settings that show emails have been received and/or read. You will need this evidence if you are claiming that your complaint was ignored or not dealt with according to the timescales set out in the company’s complaints procedure.

How do I make a complaint?

You must normally make your complaint to The Property Ombudsman within twelve months of the issue arising (although this may be extended in certain special circumstances).

To file a complaint, you need to complete the form on the TPO website. This is a comprehensive form and will take around 15 minutes to complete. Make sure you tell them as much as possible about your complaint and include all relevant documents you want to use as evidence. 

If you don’t include certain evidence as part of your initial complaint, you won’t be able to use it later to appeal the decision. You can find a list of suggested documents that can be used as evidence on the TPO website here.

The TPO will not consider cases that are already being dealt with by the courts, or on which there has already been a court ruling. If the cash house buyer is taking you to court, for example for unpaid fees or penalties, you can ask the court to postpone the case while you try to resolve it through the TPO.

What happens next?

The Property Ombudsman will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and let you know if there are valid grounds for involving TPO. This includes making sure you have exhausted all direct routes to dispute resolution. They may also ask you for further information that they need to clarify your case. Once they have everything they need, they will then decide whether to accept or decline your case. 

The Property Ombudsman will consider your case based on legal principles, adherence to the TPO Code of Practice, and what they consider to be fair and reasonable behaviour by the cash house buyer involved. 

Before your case is allocated to a TPO adjudicator, they will write to the cash house buyer and ask them for your file and get their side of the story.

A decision will then be made based on the evidence provided by both sides. This decision can take between 30 and 90 days, depending on the complexity of the case and the current TPO caseload. However, there is an early resolution process for simpler cases in which both sides are willing and able to find common ground.

What can I expect from The Property Ombudsman?

After carefully considering all the evidence, TPO will issue a binding ruling to resolve the issue. This may include an award of compensation to cover your proven financial losses and to compensate for aggravation, distress and inconvenience.

It’s worth remembering that The property Ombudsman does not issue punitive fines to cash house buyers and so settlement awards are generally small, unless you can prove significant financial losses as a result of the actions of the company involved. The average award for complaints without proven financial losses is around £500.

If The Property Ombudsman finds in your favour, then they will write to the cash house buyer and give them 14 days in which to accept or appeal the decision. If they do not respond within this time, their acceptance is assumed.

If The Property Ombudsman does not find in your favour, then you will have 28 days to either accept or appeal the TPO decision yourself. You can only appeal if you believe that the decision is factually wrong, contains significant errors or if you can produce new evidence to support your case. Remember, this cannot be evidence that was available at the time of your initial complaint.

If your appeal is unsuccessful, there’s no further appeals process. You may decide to take your case to the courts, however, once you do this, the decision of The Property Ombudsman becomes invalid and cannot be used as evidence. 

In general, the TPO process is considered a full and final settlement, and if you accept a ruling, that’s expected to be the end of the matter and you should not take it any further.

When will I get my settlement?

If the TPO finds in your favour, and decides on compensation, the cash house buyer should pay the award within 28 days. However, in order to be paid your award, you need to settle any outstanding invoices or fees within 15 days of the judgement. Alternatively, you can arrange for your award to be deducted from any outstanding invoices or charges that you have withheld as part of the dispute. You should let the TPO know when your award has been paid so that they can close the case.

If the company ignores the ruling or refuses to pay the compensation award, then they will be given a further week to make the payment. After this time, the company will be referred to TPO Disciplinary Standards Committee.

Final thoughts

By becoming a member of The Property Ombudsman, a cash house buyer has shown a willingness to work to a certain standard and accept the TPO Code of Practice. This means that they should be willing to settle most disputes with you directly, according to an established complaints procedure.

This is why the Property Sale Watchdog recommends that you only choose cash house buyers who are TPO members. 

Without the backing of The Property Ombudsman, your only option to resolve complaints will be through the courts. This can be a lengthy and very expensive process and the companies in question know this. They count on you not having the time, money or will to pursue legal action against them, and this leaves them free to behave as badly as they like.

We have independently investigated a wide range of companies to find the best cash home buyers in the UK. We analysed each one based on their cash offers, reliability, customer service and a wide range of other metrics.

Very few companies made the grade, offering a genuine cash offer, without contracts and without any fees. And very few met our high standards for service, putting the customer first.

The good news is that we did find some open, honest and genuine cash homebuyers out there who get our seal of approval by offering:

  • A genuine cash price for your home
  • Proof of funds to buy with
  • Completion in just 14 days (or anytime to suit you)
  • Membership of a recognised redress scheme
  • No contract to sign
  • No last-minute price reductions

Click the get a quote button below to see what you could get for a quick cash sale from a Property Sale Watchdog approved cash homebuying company.

We want to help out as many people as possible. That’s why we created this comprehensive article.

If you are looking to sell your property, use our get a quote or send us an email.

Depending on your preference and circumstances, we’ll connect you for free with one of our strictly vetted, ethical partners. 

They will help you sell your property for the best offer you can realistically achieve.

They will take care of all of the legal processes and fees and you’ll get the cash straight into your bank account. 

With our partners you can achieve a very fast sale or a slower one if you’re not pressed on time.

Faster sales usually yield a lesser price but they save you time.

It all depends on your circumstances and preference.

Final Thoughts

We really hope this guide has given you some insight on how long does it take to sell a house. Being better armed with information can’t always speed things up. But it can help things make sense.

We hope knowing what’s going on behind the scenes helps to remove some of the stress.

You might not have realised how long it can take to find a buyer. 

You might decide you want to sidestep the tricky conveyancing process. 

And you might well want to avoid the stress of both altogether.

 

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