Complaints Procedure

At Stephen Lane Estate Agents, we are committed to providing a professional and high-quality service to all our clients and customers. However, we recognise that occasionally things may go wrong. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, we would like you to tell us so that we have the opportunity to investigate your concerns and, where appropriate, put things right.

Raising a Complaint

In the first instance, please raise your concern with the member of our team you have been dealing with. Many issues can be resolved quickly and informally.

If your concern cannot be resolved, or you wish the matter to be treated as a formal complaint, please contact us and make clear that you are making a formal complaint.

You may make a formal complaint by email, letter, telephone or in person. We recommend providing as much information as possible, including the property concerned, the nature of your complaint, relevant dates and what you would like us to consider as a resolution.

Written complaints can be sent to:

The Director
Stephen Lane Estate Agents
Email: enquiries@stephenlaneestates.co.uk

If a formal complaint is made verbally, we will make a written record of the complaint so that it can be investigated under this procedure.

What Happens Next?

We will acknowledge your formal complaint within 3 working days of receiving it.

The complaint will be investigated and we will provide you with a written response addressing the matters you have raised, normally within 15 working days of receiving your complaint.

If for any reason we are unable to provide our response within this timescale, we will explain the reason for the delay and let you know when you can expect to receive it.

Formal complaints are overseen by the Director.

Our Final Viewpoint

Stephen Lane Estate Agents is a small independent business with a single Director. This means that it may not always be possible for a complaint to be passed to another senior person who has had no previous involvement in the matter.

Where a further independent internal review is not reasonably possible, the Director's written response may constitute our Final Viewpoint and will make this clear to you.

Our in-house complaints procedure will not take longer than 8 weeks from receipt of your formal complaint.

There is no charge for making or having a complaint investigated.

The Property Ombudsman

Stephen Lane Estate Agents is a member of The Property Ombudsman (TPO).

If you remain dissatisfied after receiving our Final Viewpoint, you may refer your complaint to The Property Ombudsman for an independent review.

You may also be able to refer the matter to TPO if 8 weeks have passed since you made your formal complaint and the matter has not been resolved.

A complaint to TPO must generally be made within 12 months of our Final Viewpoint. TPO also normally requires the matters complained about to have been raised with us within 12 months of the event concerned, or when you first became aware of it.

The Property Ombudsman
Unit 159756
PO Box 7169
Poole
BH15 9EL

Telephone: 01722 333306
Email: admin@tpos.co.uk
Website: www.tpos.co.uk

Further information about The Property Ombudsman's complaints process is available on its website.

Our Commitment

All complaints will be treated seriously, fairly and objectively. Making a complaint will not affect the service you receive from us.

We will also make reasonable adjustments to our complaints process where appropriate if you need additional assistance in raising or pursuing a complaint.

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