UK Surveyor Ombudsman on the cards
11 Apr 05
Report recommends extension of successful Scottish pilot to whole of UK
A new report recommends the extension of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Ombudsman Scheme, currently being piloted in Scotland, to cover the rest of the UK.
A wide-ranging review of regulation and redress in the property industry by former OFT Director General, Sir Bryan Carsberg, for the RICS praises the success of the scheme saying feedback had been "almost entirely positive".
The scheme was launched last year to handle complaints against surveyors from individuals involving maladministration, poor service, negligence, incompetence and financial loss of up to £25,000.
Sir Bryan said: "Any mechanism that removes disputing parties from their respective bunkers and addresses the issues quickly and cheaply must be a good thing.
"I recommend that RICS extends the Surveyor Ombudsman Scheme (SOS) to the rest of the UK as soon as possible, subject to a review of funding requirements and the creation of a properly costed business plan."
He also suggests that the SOS's remit is widened to cover small businesses, one possibility being that the scheme be used to deal with any claims up to the existing £25,000 ceiling.
Indeed Sir Bryan goes further and suggests that the property industry joins up to provide consumers with a single route to redress, through a UK Property Ombudsman.