In brief
The new estate agents redress scheme from the Estate Agents Company Limited has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). With the approval of a redress scheme under the Consumer Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, the secretary of state for business enterprise and regulatory reform can now require all estate agents dealing with residential property in the UK to join an approved scheme from October 2008. The OFT is considering two other applications to operate estate agents redress schemes and will announce decisions on these soon. Once it becomes compulsory for agents to join an approved scheme, buyers and sellers of residential property will be able to refer complaints concerning members of the scheme to an ombudsman who can make a range of awards, including requiring a member to pay compensation.
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