Complaints procedure
Home Information Pack providers collect together the necessary information and produce Home Information Packs. If a Pack provider is not an estate agent, then the handling of a complaint depends on whether they are members of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers. As yet there is no mandatory complaints procedure for Home Information Pack providers, although the Department for Communities and Local Government intends to keep this under review.
For more information on the process, see the headings below:
What to do
If the provider is not a member
If the provider is a member
How to complain
What happens next?
Decisions and outcomes
Complaining about the complaints procedure
If you don't know whether the provider is a member of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, they should be able to advise you:
Email: info@hipassociation.co.uk
Tel: 0870 950 7739
Fax: 01858 445 823
By post:
Association of Home Information Pack Providers
3 Savile Row
London
W1S 3PB
The Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme can provide a full list of member companies:
IDRS Ltd
IPCAS
24 Angel Gate
City Road
London EC1V 2PT.
Tel: 020 7520 3800
Fax: 0845 1308 117
Email: info@idrs.ltd.uk
Web: www.idrs.ltd.uk/ipcas
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If the provider is not a member
If the service provider is not a member, there is no formal redress scheme in place. However, the complainant could pursue legal redress.
The complaint may be sent to The Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme if:
- The complainant has already exhausted the firm's own complaints procedure
- The consumer has asked the company or the administrator for an application form and brought the claim within three months of the last communication from the company
- The dispute does not involve a claim for an amount of more than £5,000, including any consequential damages and VAT, for any one consumer. Any element for inconvenience will be limited to £250 per claim
- The dispute does not involve a complicated issue of law
- The dispute is not subject to an existing or previous court action unless that action is suspended or discontinued by agreement between the parties or by order of the court
The Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme is provided by DRS-CIArb (the administrator), a part of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and which is an associate member of the British & Irish Ombudsman Association, in association with the Property Codes Compliance Board.
The scheme is designed to govern the resolution of disputes between individual consumers and either search industry companies arising from searches undertaken as part of the property purchasing process, or Home Information Pack providers arising from Packs compiled as part of the property purchasing process.
- The consumer must ask the company or the administrator for an application form
- All applications must be made on the Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme Adjudication Claim Form and must be endorsed by the company
- If the company is a firm registered with the Property Codes Compliance Board, they must accept an application for adjudication under the Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme if the dispute has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the consumer by the company's internal complaints-handling procedure
The consumer's application must give reasons for the items claimed, and in particular should include details of:
- Particular events leading up to the dispute
- The precise nature of the dispute
- Grounds for claiming the items or remedy sought
- Reasons for the amount of any compensation claimed
The application can be supported by documentation, but should not consist only of correspondence.
When it's received a valid claim, the administrator will send the company a copy of that claim.
The company has 14 working days from the date of receipt of the claim to provide the administrator with either written confirmation that the claim has been settled, together with details of the settlement or their response to the claim.
If there is no written confirmation of settlement, or the company does not file its response in the time allowed, the adjudicator will determine the dispute by considering only the information provided by the consumer.
The Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme then sends the complainant the company's reply and gives them seven days to make any final comments.
The administrator will send a copy of any comments to the company, and at the same time appoint an independent adjudicator and provide the parties with the adjudicator's name.
The adjudicator may contact the parties by phone, fax, letter or email to ask for further documents or information they need to make their decision.
No party involved in any dispute referred to the Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme, the administrator or the adjudicator shall disclose details of the proceedings to any stranger to the proceedings unless it is necessary to do so in order to enforce the decision or as may be required by law.
The adjudicator will make a decision on the matter, usually within six weeks of the application being made.
The administrator will provide the parties with a copy of the decision, including the reasons for it. If the adjudicator agrees with a complaint, he or she can require the company to:
- Apologise or explain
- Provide a product or service or take some practical action that's to the benefit of the complainant
- Pay compensation up to £5,000 including VAT (the adjudicator can only do this if the complainant asks for compensation on the application).
The adjudicator may also recommend that the company change its policies or procedures as a result of the dispute.
The complainant should then contact the Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme within six weeks of the date of the decision to say whether or not they accept it. If they accept the decision, the company will pay any compensation directly to the consumer within four weeks of the consumer having notified acceptance of the decision.
If they do not accept the decision, they may take the dispute to court. They should get more information from Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
The adjudicator's decision is only binding on the company when accepted by the consumer as above. The decision cannot be appealed. It can only be accepted or rejected, and only by the consumer.
Complaining about the complaints procedure
If any party has a complaint about the Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme, the adjudicator or a member of the administrator's staff then the complaint should be made by following the administrator's complaints procedure. Copies of the procedure are available from the admin
