The coronavirus has caused huge ripple effects, changing what we all mistook for normality. At least for the time being.
Firms have had to adjust to a number of factors, including furloughing staff and working from home, all whilst navigating their way through this unprecedented time.
Will this new ‘normal’ replace the old way of working?
Here Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman, shared her thoughts about how her organisation has maintained ‘business as usual’ during these unprecedented times.
Has The Property Ombudsman (TPO) been able to operate as usual during lockdown?
Yes. We were able to fully equip all staff to enable home working immediately as lockdown came into effect and we have been working at over 90% of capacity throughout the lockdown period. Like many other organisations, we have utilised online meeting platforms to keep in touch and perform weekly briefings. Staff morale has been high and the resilience and professionalism of everyone at TPO as they have responded to the situation has been really impressive.
How has COVID-19 changed the volume/type of complaints received?
The level of initial enquiries has increased. We had already started work on a self-serve diagnostic tool to help with the year-on-year increased levels of enquiries and we launched it just ahead of the lockdown. It has proved immensely popular, with an average of 1000 visits per week in addition to the telephone and e-mail enquiries we have dealt with, which were only marginally lower than pre-lockdown. The number of accepted complaints has remained the same as the level received this time last year.
What are the most common?
Clearly there have been many and varied enquiries which have been COVID-19 related as consumers have dealt with the uncertainties facing us all. But the main nature of complaints has not changed – where consumers feel that they have been poorly treated or have lost money, then clearly they do everything possible to seek redress. Poor communications leading to lack of understanding about transactions remain high on the agenda. Page 10 of our Annual Report outlines the most commons causes of complaints in 2019.
What complaints have you had since the property market has been open for business?
From TPO’s perspective, Property Agents have remained open for business throughout the lockdown – they might not have been able to have a physical presence on the high street but they have still responded to all of our requests for information on complaints and have done what they can to continue to provide services.
What do you see changing in the future?
I absolutely believe that we will all take the learning forward positively and progressively – there will be more digital working, more working from home and, I hope, a more caring society. We will see more use of virtual viewings, for example, and we need to make sure that there are new standards of excellence so that consumers receive professional services with all the material information they need to make transactional decisions ready and available from day one.
In partnership with Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards and Propertymark, we have recently sent a Primary Authority Advice document providing guidance in regard to conducting virtual viewings to all of our members.
