22
Feb
RICS: More than price has to be considered in conveyancing process
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) should look into more than just
price when it is assessing whether consumers are getting a fair
deal during the conveyancing process, it has been
suggested.
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS),
people have a right to expect protection when they are buying a new
home.
It made its comments in the wake of a study conducted by the OFT
after which it concluded that it would adopt an approach fixed on
price competition.
Responding to the development, RICS director of regulation Steven
Gould said: "The OFT needs to realise that there is more to
protecting consumers and maintaining fair trading than
prices."
He added that the office - which is an independent organisation
that seeks to make markets work well for consumers - needs to begin
talking to the government in order to achieve a "joined-up"
approach to property policy.
