Estate Agents Code of Practice |
In response to a current discussion in our forum, I thought I should write a post about codes of practice for estate agents.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has recently given approval to the Ombudsman for Estate Agency (OEA) scheme. Currently only around 40% of estate agents belong to this scheme, but this is expected to rise quickly.
John Fingleton, OFT chief executive, said “Consumers can be assured that when they choose an estate agent that is displaying the OEA/OFT Approved code logo, they will be treated fairly if they have a complaint,”.
As the first code of practice for estate agents approved by the OFT, this is a good step in the right direction for protecting consumers from unscrupulous estate agents. To do your bit in helping the general public (as well as yourself), try to choose an agent that displays the OEA logo. Hopefully this should encourage other estate agents to join the code.
