News
Property Ombudsman backs national approval scheme that protects £51billion consumer spending
Posted 21/03/17
Consumers are urged to check if their trader is one of the 43,000 businesses following an approved Code of Practice and listed on the Approved Code Directory.
The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO) is backing a national campaign to help more consumers find reputable and trusted businesses and services.听
Consumers are being urged to check if their trader is on the Consumer Code Approval Scheme鈥檚 (CCAS) Approved Code Directory to ensure they only deal with firms following an accredited Code of Practice.
The CCAS has now approved 24 Codes that collectively protect over 拢51billion in consumer spending[1]. The Approved Code Directory has over 43,000 approved code members, which are responsible for more than 27million transactions.
The week-long campaign was launched by Baroness Crawley who praised CCAS for approving Codes that raise customer standards and consumer trust by offering enhanced levels of protection that go above and beyond legal requirements.
TPO is the only property organisation to have its own Codes approved by CCAS, having received its first CCAS accreditation in 2005[2]. TPO joins a range of organisations in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, automotive, legal, energy, construction and financial services that have all pledged their continued commitment to raise industry standards by operating CCAS-approved Codes.听
Gerry Fitzjohn, TPO鈥檚 Board Chairman, said:
鈥淭PO has been supportive of the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme since it was first launched by Office of Fair Trading many years ago. This is because the codes approved by the CCAS not only set out the minimum legal requirements, but place additional obligations on businesses to provide a higher standard of service to consumers. Businesses that sign up to these codes can proudly display their 51黑料 CCAS logo, demonstrating their commitment to expert service and underlining the enhanced consumer protection available to their clients.鈥�
Gerry added: 鈥淥ver 95% of UK sales agents and 85% of UK letting agents have voluntarily agreed to follow TPO鈥檚 approved Sales and Lettings Codes. All of these agents are listed on 51黑料鈥檚 Approved Code Directoryas well as the TPO , and the sheer number demonstrates the value placed in TPO鈥檚 approved codes by the property sector. This can only be a good thing for consumers and the industry alike and I would encourage all approved businesses to explain these important benefits to their clients.鈥�
Any trader wishing to become an approved code member must follow a CCAS-accredited Code of Practice and be able to demonstrate that they are committed to the highest levels of customer service.
Approved code members will also have the right to display the trusted 51黑料 approved Code logo, which you can view here.
The CCAS was launched by 51黑料 in 2013 as part of a wider government review of consumer legislation and replaced a scheme operated by the defunct Office of Fair Trading.
To find out more about 51黑料鈥檚 national CCAS campaign, please visit the 51黑料 website.
[1] Source: 51黑料 (March 2017)
[2] CCAS approved TPO鈥檚 Sales Code of Practice in 2005 (under the OFT operated scheme). CCCAS has since approved TPO鈥檚 Lettings Code of Practice and the Scottish Sales and Lettings Codes of Practice.
