EQUITY AND LAW

Equity & Law Property Auctioneers has a formal complaints procedure, which is explained below.

As an Equity & Law customer you expect a first class service from us and we aim to provide it. We have high standards, but if you believe we have made a mistake, please get in touch with us as soon as possible and we will do everything we can to put it right.

We are also subject to the rules of The Property Ombudsman. In general terms this gives customers who are unable to resolve a complaint against us the right to have this reviewed by an independent person – the Ombudsman.

We hope that our complaints procedure will resolve any complaint without the need for you to contact The Property Ombudsman. Please note that the Ombudsman will not investigate your complaint before you have completed our complaints procedure and received a letter from us giving our final response.

This page shows the steps in our complaints procedure. At every stage we promise to listen and to do everything we can to resolve your problem and to make sure that you are happy with the way we do it.

Our Complaints Procedure

If you have a problem relating to Equity & Law, please discuss this with one of our branch staff. Our aim is to deal with your problem sympathetically, fairly and quickly.

Where your complaint is initially made verbally, you will be requested to send a written summary of your complaint to the person dealing with it.

Your letter should state why you are still dissatisfied and what further action you wish Equity & Law to take to fully resolve your complaint. The Partners will fully investigate your complaint as quickly as possible.

Once we have received your written summary of the complaint, we will contact you in writing within seven days to inform you of our understanding of the circumstances leading to your complaint. You will be invited to make any comments that you may have in relation to this.

If you feel that the matter is not being resolved to your satisfaction, please ask to speak to the Manager of the Branch dealing with your enquiry. The Manager will try to resolve the matter on the day you raise your complaint. This will depend on the nature of the complaint and you will be informed of any anticipated delay.

If the response by our Branch Manager does not resolve the matter to your satisfaction, you can ask the Manager to refer the complaint to one of the Partners, alternatively you can write to either of them:

Mr C. Georgiades, Partner, Equity & Law, Equity & law House, 31 Willoughby Drive, Empingham, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8PZ.

Mrs Marion Yolanda Georgiades, Partner, Equity & Law, Equity & law House, 31 Willoughby Drive, Empingham, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8PZ.

A letter of acknowledgement will be sent to you within 3 working days.

It will also:

• Set out our understanding of your complaint, and
• State when we will be able to reply in greater detail.

You may also be asked for additional information if this is required to assist in resolving the matter. A formal written outcome of this investigation will be sent to you within 21 days.

If your problem has still not been resolved by the Branch Manager, please write to:

Mr C Georgiades, Partner, Equity & Law, Equity & law House, 31 Willoughby Drive, Empingham, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8PY.

In all but exceptional cases, by the end of eight weeks following receipt of your complaint, Equity & Law will have given you its final response by letter, which will be accompanied by The Property Ombudsman Consumer Guide.

If you are still not satisfied with the steps taken by Equity & Law, you can write to:

The Property Ombudsman Ltd, 4 Bridge Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2LX (Telephone: (01722) 333306 or e-mail: admin@tpo.co.uk).

The Property Ombudsman will consider your complaint, taking into account any points made by you and Equity & Law. The Ombudsman may, however, refuse to investigate a complaint where your issue refers to something that happened more than 12 months before you complained in writing to the Member Agency, or you referred your complaint to the Ombudsman more than six months after you received the Member Agency’s final offer of settlement or answer.

The Ombudsman’s Office may try to settle the dispute by agreement between you and Equity & Law. If this is unsuccessful, the Ombudsman will consider all the relevant factors and make a decision according to what he believes to be fair in all the circumstances.

The Ombudsman will send his decision to you and Equity & Law. You can accept or reject his decision. If you reject the Ombudsman's decision, it will lapse and you are free to do as you wish. If you wish to take legal action, you can do so. Your legal rights will not have been affected by the Ombudsman's decision.