Charges for Property Search Services
The UK Property Search Group (PSG) has published their response to the UK Governments consultation Paper issued in January 2008 by Department for Communities and Local Government and Ministry of Justice.
The 68 page submission titled: Local Authority Property Search Services: Charges for Property Search Services - Response from The Property Search Group concludes:
"20. The Consultation Paper (and the KPMG Study upon which it is based) is flawed in 4 fundamental areas:
a. It does not address all the recommendations made by the OFT b. It is based on a survey, poorly supported by LAs, that is inadequate for purposes of statistical analysis and meaningful projection c. It is based on mistaken interpretation of the lawd. It makes scant provision for implementation, monitoring and regulation
21. In consequence its findings are inadequate to address the urgent needs of the UK Search and HIPs markets. It falls far short of producing a “level playing field”. The opposite is the case. It makes proposals heavily biased in favour of LAs that would allow them to perpetuate persistent, historical abuses of their dominant market position.
22. PSG, as a responsible company, believes that the only fair way to achieve a “level playing field” is to institute a system which:
a. Provides equal access and charging regimes for all parties “competing” in the local enquiries search market b. Ensures that all parties comply with the law with no need for primary legislation c. Ensures complete separation between the public duty of LAs and their commercial activitiesd. Is governed by an independent regulator and monitored by an industry watchdog
23. In this Paper PSG proposes a model that will achieve a truly level playing field and that will ensure sufficient market capacity to sustain the growth of the HIPs programme through the introduction of “first day marketing” into the recovery of the UK housing market. This is in the best interests of all stakeholders, especially the consumer."
The OFT Property Searches Report
CLG and MoJ (UK Government Departments) ignore PSI
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