Estate agency in Hounslow expelled by property watchdog

An estate agency in Hounslow has been expelled from a voluntary property watchdog scheme for breaching guidelines and failing to compensate a customer.

CityWest.co.uk, which is based in Bath Road, Hounslow, has had its membership of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) revoked for a minimum of two years.

TPO, a voluntary scheme set up to settle disputes between consumers and property agents, said the firm failed to pay the £2,800 the ombudsman had awarded to a potential buyer who complained about the service.

The ombudsman said the customer had paid the agent £2,500 for what he maintained was a deposit but which the company said was a fee for speaking to mortgage lenders and arranging suitable solicitors.

Although the ombudsman did not accept the sum had been a deposit, which should have been refunded when the sale fell through, it found CityWest had breached parts of TPO's code of practice.

"The fee charged was not commensurate with the level of service provided"

The company had not properly explained what the money was for to the customer, who was a first-time buyer whose mother tongue was not English, TPO ruled.

And although the firm maintained it had charged accordingly for its time, TPO said the complainant was billed before any work had been carried out.

The customer was awarded £2,800 - made up of a partial refund of the fee and compensation - and when the company failed to pay up it was expelled from the scheme.

Gerry Fitzjohn, vice chairman of the TPO Board, said: "In examining the issues involved in this case, The Ombudsman supported two of the three complaints made. It was felt that the fee charged by CityWest was not commensurate with the level of service provided and the shortcomings in the agent’s approach merited an award for compensation.

"The agent, however, has failed to meet his obligations to pay that award and has now felt the consequences."

CityWest said it disagreed with the ombudsman's findings. It claimed the customer had requested a refund after deciding to withdraw his offer once the work had already been carried out by the company.