§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 10 July 2003,Official Report, column 888W, when she expects to receive the report of the Director General of Fair Trading on estate agents; and on what date she expects to publish the report. [126752]
§ Mr. SutcliffeI expect the Office of Fair Trading to publish its report on estate agents in the autumn.
430W
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 10 July 2003,Official Report, column 888W, (1) how many estate agents are practising in the United Kingdom; and what percentage of estate agents are members of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme; [126753]
(2) how much was paid out in each year since 1997 by way of compensation by the Ombudsman for malpractice by estate agents. [126756]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThis information is not collected by the Department.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 10 July 2003,Official Report, column 888W, what procedures are in place to ensure that estate agents banned by the Office of Fair Trading (a) no longer practise and (b) are no longer involved in the management of estate agency companies; how many estate agents banned since 1997 have subsequently been discovered to have continued or recommenced estate agency work; how many estate agents have been prosecuted since 1997 for such practices; what the penalties received were; and what procedures are in place to monitor estate agents whose conduct has resulted in warning letters being issued by the Director General of Fair Trading. [126754]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe banning of an estate agent by the Office of Fair Trading results in a press release that alerts other local estate agents and consumers. Local Trading Standards Officers are advised separately, and the OFT relies on them to notify it if the banned agent continues in business or is involved in the management of an estate agency company. It is a criminal offence for an agent banned by the OFT to continue doing estate agency work.
No estate agents banned since 1997 have subsequently been discovered to have continued or recommenced estate agency work or been prosecuted for such practices.
The OFT does not publicise the issue of warning letters to estate agents, and does not formally monitor estate agents whose conduct has resulted in a warning letter being sent. However, a copy is sent to the local Trading Standards Department to alert them to the action taken. Formal warning orders are treated as per banning orders.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 10 July 2003,Official Report, column 888W, on estate agents, how many complaints were investigated by the Office of Fair Trading in each year since 2000; how many were upheld in each year since 1997; what the average time taken to investigate a complaint is; and what the longest time taken to investigate a complaint is. [126755]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe following table contains details of the complaints about estate agents investigated by the Office of Fair Trading and the number of complaints upheld in each year since 2000. The OFT did not record details of how many complaints were upheld prior to 2001.
431W
Complaints investigated by the
Office of Fair Trading
Complaints upheld by the Office of Fair
Trading
2000 213 — 2001 170 80 2002 206 97 2003 1126 147 1Up to 31 July 2003
The three main areas of complaints were: agents not passing on offers, failing to declare a personal interest and misrepresentation as to the details/existence of a prospective purchaser.
The average time taken to investigate a complaint is three months. Complex cases may take up to a year.