The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) says that the top complaint of consumers against property agents is their poor service.
Based on the latest figures released to The Straits Times, four out of ten complaints recorded in the last three years were due to the failure of agents to carry out their obligations to consumers, like submitting the necessary documents and providing appropriate advice.
Making up 15 percent of complaints from January to September is the failure of property agents to honour agreements, which shows an increase from 2007’s three percent of complaints.
Around seven to eight percent of complaints each year is due to misrepresentation of facts, while unclassified generic enquiries have comprised 16 to 29 percent of cases since 2007.
According to Seah Seng Choon, executive director of Case, other complaints from sellers and home buyers against property agents include misleading sales tactics and refunds and charging too much for commission fees.
“Most of the time, we see cases where the agent failed to provide the necessary information, in one way or another, for consumers to make an informed choice,” Mr. Seah said.
This collected information by Case provides an insight about the nature of complaints regarding the agents, which is said to be a timely initiative, considering that the government is seeking for public feedback about the new scheme to overhaul the industry.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) made some proposition the previous week that aimed to enhance the essence of professionalism in the industry, which include organising an independent tribunal to handle dispute, an accredited industry body and a new regulatory authority.
After gaining a ‘cowboy’ reputation in recent years for the growing complaints against deceitful agents, the real estate sector has experienced various scrutinies.
Compared with only 379 cases in 2002 and 447 complaints in 2003, Case recorded 1,055 complaints in 2007 and 1,100 cases in 2008.
According to Mr. Seah, some examples of substandard services rendered by agents include failing to openly explain the sales process, taking the role of both the seller and the home buyer to generate higher commissions, and leaving out important papers.