I wonder if members could give me some direction here. If you are not satisfied with the services provided by the estate agents, who do you turn to if you wished to complain? I had no luck with the manager cum director, but would like to take it further.

If your estate agents is a member of some kind of professional body, then you can raise your concerns with them.

Are these bodies really effective in dealing with complaints? And what if the agents are not members of any professional associations?

If estate agents are not members of any professional bodies, then the only remedy would probably be a small claim court (if you are claiming financial compensation). As those things are timeconsuming and cost money, it's not always a solution.

Not sure if membership of a professional association will guarantee successful outcome of your complaint. i understand this area is not regulated as yet. So, what's the worst thing that could happen to the estate agent who is not complying with their professional association's code of practice? They'd be kicked out, but they could still continue trading their services. And if the agency is bothered more about making a quick buck rather than their professional reputation, then you may just have to look for another agent. It took me a long time to find my agent, but, so far, i'm quite happy with them.

i can see your point, but if we do not complain about poor services, those providing poor services will have no incentive to improve and will get away with 'murder'! On the other hand, the more we complain or rather raise our concerns with professional trade organisations, media, watchdog, local MPs, etc, the sooner relevant changes will be introduced. Take for example, tenants deposit scheme? i understand it took years for this legislation to be introduced and perhaps it's not as fair (towards landlords, of course) as it should have been, but it was a step in the right direction.

Yeah, people! Can't exactly remember who, but one famous writer said something along these lines 'activism is the rent we pay for living on this planet! We ought to be active in fighting (not literally!) not only the injustice but also poor services. You've probably guessed that i had some bad experience with the estate agents and cant wait for the laws or at least minimum standards to be introduced to ensure that customers, tenants and landlords alike, receive quality service.

Go on, meloman13! I can feel another campaign coming up Joking apart, i totally agree with you. I threatened to take my letting agents to courts ones for their refusal to undertake certain repairs. It took a lot of time and effort, but they did back down in the end as the prospect of their name and reputation being dragged through the courts did not appeal to them.

A buyer may also need to have a real estate agent so that it would be easier to find the proper home to buy. This is generally more beneficial for those out of town buyers as they can be a big help during your search for property that can fit your needs and your budget. With the knowledge and experiences you can be assured that they already know what they are doing. Thus, you can feel more comfortable with the deals that you have.

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Arent we getting sidetracked here? Yeah, its good to have an estate agent (real estate agent) who will assist you in the search of your dream property. But the question here is what do you do if you are not happy with their services?

If negotiating is not getting you where you want to be, then complaining is probably the only way. One would hope that letting agency would have a certain complaints procedure in place. Of course, it helps if the agency in question is a member of a some sort of professional association.

What was the problem? Unreliable staff?,poorly produced property details?,poor quality clients?

Mainly communication problem: details of my offer not passed to the seller, attitude problem, demanding details from me that had nothing to do with them or their duties to me as a buyer, etc. In the end, transaction failed, but think it could have gone ahead, had they been more cooperative.

If you are not gettin anywhere with the complaints procedure, there is always local press or TV, or even the one show (i love it !)

Another way is to alert as many would-be clients as possible via variours review sites or online forums. Perhaps when such firms start losing their customers, they'll start putting their customers and quality of services first. Well, we all live in hope, dont we