Complaints Procedure

If things don’t always work out…

Barkers are committed to providing sellers/buyers and landlords/tenants with good standards of service. We are estate agents so our role is primarily marketing properties and negotiating a sale of a property prior to handing over the detailed conveyancing process to solicitors. However, we are human and there may be times when our service level may fall short of your expectations and indeed of our own.

Our reputation is important to us and we value clients, as sellers/landlords and although our first duty is to the clients we represent, we take seriously the need to act responsibly and fairly towards buyers & renterstoo, to seek to provide a harmonious and smooth home move.

These internal complaints procedure guidelines are published to help you make us aware of any concerns so we can address them and attempt to put them right.

For the sale and letting of residential property our Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) entity is, Property Redress.

However, in the first instance, please tell us what part of our service or procedure you are unhappy about and what you would like us to do to put matters right.

You can do this by writing to us at:

BARKERS ESTATE AGENTS
104 London Road
Shenley,
Herts
WD7 9BS

Attention: Christopher Newell (senior partner)

Alternatively you may forward details of your concerns by emailing to: chris@barkersestateagents.com

You may also telephone us on 01923 855266

Putting your complaint in writing is preferred as it allows us to know we have understood all your issues or concerns and so allows us to fully investigate them fairly.

• We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing or by email within five working days.
• Your complaint will be given careful consideration and we will tell you who will be dealing with it and investigating the matter.
• You will receive a detailed response within thirty working days of our receiving your complaint.

If further time is needed, for example to seek comments or reports from others, or appraising historical documentation or correspondence, then we will communicate with you, within the 21 days, to explain this and the effect on the timescale.

If after receiving our detailed response, we do not hear from you within a further eight weeks from the date of our response we will assume the matter has been resolved and we will close the case.

If you think your concerns have not been answered and resolved after receiving our detailed response, then you should let us know, in writing or email what they are and why our response is not adequate or satisfactory. We will acknowledge your communication within ten working days of receipt.

Your concerns will then be considered by a different member of the management, who has not been involved in the initial review of your complaint or it may be considered by a nonexecutive consultant to the business.

A second response will be sent within twenty-one working days of the receipt of your request for an escalated review. If for any reason we are unable to fully respond within this time we will communicate with you, the reasons for this and we will tell you when we expect the further detailed response to be sent to you.

Our aim is to ensure our approach is fair and thorough and reflects not only the facts, timelines, subjective interpretations or opinions and competitive market conditions, but also an understanding that, selling and letting of property, price negotiations, home moving and the complexities and variables that may arise with chains, paperwork or peoples’ circumstances, are not always a simple question of ‘right or wrong’.

If after hearing and then investigating and addressing your complaint, we have not been able to resolve your concerns, then it may be appropriate for the matter to be referred to an ombudsman service to be resolved by way of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Our ombudsman service for ADR is:

Property Redress
Limelight, 1
St Floor
Elstree Way, Borehamwood,
Herts. WD6 1JH

Tel: 0333 321 9418
info@propertyredress.co.uk

Please Note:

You should refer the matter forward as soon as possible after receiving our final detailed response, but no later than twelve months of the date of our final letter. You will need to complete our internal complaints procedure, before you raise your concerns with our ombudsman service provider.