Stakeholder meeting on HIPs Redress Scheme
According to a Stakeholder meeting held in January 2007 between:
- Ombudsman of Estate Agents (OEA)
- Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
- Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), and the
- Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG)
discussing the OEA's application to run a HIPs Redress Scheme (pdf), the...
DTI asked whether there was flexibility in the OEA’s resources to handle a possible radical increase in complaints when HIPs were introduced. OEA stated that they were not sure that there would be a ‘radical increase’. The main increase will be with frontline queries, and they predicted that it would take six months for their caseload to rise.
(Emphasis mine)
Although the OEA responded that they weren't entirely sure there would be a "radical increase", they did indicate that they were expecting an increase of "frontline queries"; predicting it would take 6 months for their "caseload to rise".
They also stated that they could always re-occupy an empty floor in their building, if necessary!
In 2006, they (OEA) also moved offices within their building leaving a floor empty, which could if necessary, be used as additional office space.
Gulp!
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