When a firm fails to hand over money to wronged customers as instructed by the Ombudsman, they are referred to its compliance committee. This committee then determines whether the offence should lead to the firm being kicked out of the scheme.
Flatfocus Management was kicked out after being accused of making fraudulent withdrawals from the company bank account, while there were also issues with management failures which were found to have put residents at risk.
The firm was told to pay £9,750, but failed to do so, while it is unclear whether the business is still trading.
Doorsteps.co.uk, an estate agent which is no longer trading and is going through insolvency, has also been kicked out of the Ombudsman. It had been ordered to pay a vendor £1,000 for an agreed refundable deposit, paid for a conveyancing service which the vendor subsequently did not need.
There were four other cases of non-payment of awards, coming to a total of £3,195.
Surrenden Invest was removed from the Ombudsman, after failing to return a reservation fee of £2,500 or communicate with the buyer. The buyer was awarded a refund and £100 compensation, but this was not paid, while the agent is no longer trading.
Five complaints raised against House Estate Agents, based in Stockport, were upheld by The Property Ombudsman. Issues included failing to transfer rent promptly, failing to transfer a deposit to a custodial account, referencing check failures, and not returning keys as requested.
Awards totalling £1,000 were made, but not paid, while the Ombudsman said it does not believe the agent is still trading.
Clarendon, a letting agent in Leicestershire, was found to have failed to transfer over rental payments for five months, nor respond to communication from the landlord. It has left the premises the business was operating from, with the Ombudsman concluding it is no longer trading.
DA Investments was removed from the Ombudsman scheme after a dispute over the payment of fees. Two separate estate agents were claiming a fee for the sale of a property, having been instructed on a multi-agency basis, with the sellers paying the second agent, DA Investments, as their fees were less.
However, the Ombudsman found that the fees should have been paid to the other agent, instructing DA Investments to refund the £4,000 paid. This did not happen, however.
The Ombudsman has also removed Empire Estates, which is another firm that is no longer believed to be trading. A buyer complained about the agent, as they had a paid a reservation fee to Empire Estates, but this was not paid to the developer nor returned to the buyer. The firm was told to return the £6,000 deposit, as well as pay £500 compensation, but has not done so.
Finally, Robinsons & Hardings Investments has been kicked out, though it is thought to still be trading. The Ombudsman awarded a commercial tenant a partial refund of money that the agent had taken as a sourcing fee for locating accommodation for the tenant’s business.
Complaints were raised over suggestions the agent had provided the tenant with misleading information, and a payment plan was set up for the agent to pay the complainant, though this was not honoured.
