Independent consumer guide. Not affiliated with Fox & Sons or Connells Group. Not legal advice.
The Property Ombudsman (TPO) is the free, independent redress scheme that Fox & Sons publishes as its dispute resolution route for residential sales and lettings complaints. Estate agents in the UK are legally required to belong to an approved redress scheme — this is yours, and it costs you nothing.
When you can go to TPO
You can refer your complaint to TPO when either of these is true:
- You have received the agent’s final viewpoint letter and you’re not satisfied, or
- 8 weeks have passed since your formal written complaint and they still haven’t issued one.
You normally have 12 months from the final viewpoint letter to submit your case — but don’t sit on it. File while everything is fresh and documented.
How to file
- Go to www.tpos.co.uk and use the online complaint form (postal address at time of writing: The Property Ombudsman, Unit 159756, PO Box 7169, Poole BH15 9EL; phone 01722 333306 — check the website for current details).
- Upload your evidence: your complaint letters, their responses, the final viewpoint letter, and your dated timeline of events.
- State clearly what outcome you want — an apology, a correction, compensation, or all three.
What TPO can do
- Investigate against the TPO Code of Practice, which sets higher standards than the bare legal minimum
- Award compensation for financial loss and for avoidable aggravation, distress and inconvenience
- Awards can reach up to £25,000 in appropriate cases
- If you accept the decision, it becomes binding on the agent — they must comply
How to win at TPO
Ombudsman investigations are paper exercises. The case is won by the quality of your documentation, not the strength of your feelings:
- Lead with a one-page dated timeline. Make the caseworker’s job easy.
- Match each complaint point to evidence. “On [date] they stated X (email attached). On [date] they stated the opposite (email attached).”
- Show you followed the process. Branch first, then corporate, then the 8-week rule.
- Quantify your losses where you can — time, costs, consequences.
If your complaint involves your personal data — inaccurate records, false statements about you, or a mishandled Subject Access Request — that’s a separate track through the ICO. See our guides to the DSAR and ICO complaints: you can run both routes at the same time.