Ombudsman Services:Property - RICS, Rules and Terms of Reference. (665)

To the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary / Chair, Ombudsman Services.

For Clarity - Attempt 665.

665. Ombudsman Services:Property - RICS, Rules and Terms of Reference.

Dear Mr Clark and Lord Tim Clement Jones,

The consumer is told that Ombudsman Services:Property was, "appointed" by RICS. That RICS funds the service. And that the service funded by RICS, "is entirely independent."

They'd have us believe that,

"RICS provides funding for the operational work of SOS (now rebranded as OS:Property) but the Ombudsman is completely independent from RICS"

The Ombudsman is completely independent from RICS.

The consumer is not told that the present Ombudsman is a member of RICS or that the company's Terms of Reference preclude such an arrangement.

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, when your company's Terms of Reference preclude the Ombudsman from being a member of RICS, why is your Ombudsman a member of RICS?

In the Terms of Reference 2 "Governance of the Service" it states;

"The Ombudsman is appointed by and responsible to the council. The Council shall, as necessary, convene a group to recommend the appointment of an Ombudsman, which shall include such independent lay representatives of RICS as agreed by the Council." 

In short, independent members of RICS appointed a member of RICS to be the independent Ombudsman even though he was a member of RICS and therefore not independent of RICS.

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, why have the Council members broken their own rules?

The European Directive EU/11/2013 at 32 states;

"The natural person or collegial body in charge of ADR should be independent of all those who might have an interests in the outcome and should have no conflict of interests which could impede an Ombudsman or it from reaching a decision in a fair, impartial and independent manner."

(Eur - Lex Access to European Law)

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, how is having an Ombudsman who is a member of RICS investigating complaints about RICS members whose fees fund the service and pay for his salary not a conflict of interest?

Way back in 2010/11, DJS Research came to the conclusion that the consensus of opinion was that the Ombudsman was not fair, impartial or independent.

Since then this information has not been gathered and with nothing gathered there has been nothing to publish.

Q. Lord Tim Clement Jones, why are you hiding the Property Ombudsman's performance in resolving property disputes from property complainants?

At a time when we're told Brexit means Brexit and that there's no Magic Money Tree we should be learning from the standards being set in Brussels regarding the independence and integrity of ADR schemes.

Q. Mr Clark, your department under Jo Swinson, and Sajid Javid and now yourself  had - and has - a close and continuing relationship with Ombudsman Services. Why has government allowed a RICS Ombudsman to take average property awards from £900 to just 50 quid in less than 4 years?

Q. Mr Clark, where is the government scrutiny of this government approved scheme? 

 

How this demonstrates independence and integrity remains a mystery to us.

Yours sincerely,

Steve Gilbert - Workstock Number - 510458

The Ombudsmans61percent Campaign is at: www.blogger.com and www.facebook.com - Ombudsmans Sixtyone-percent.