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Broker concern over property service proposals

Published on 25 Feb 2010 under category: legal

Revealing commission fees at the outset should not become mandatory for those in the property sector, according to the industry body for brokers.

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) criticised the report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) , arguing that it would make the market even more competitive for brokers.

Secondly, consumers are likely to be put off by such information about commission fees because they will not fully understand what it means, the association claimed.

In addition, the organisation cited its research that the commission fee was not significant to most firms, so it was unnecessary to legislate for its mandatory disclosure.

Eric Galbraith, the BIBA chief executive, said: "The RICS has elected to take on the role of the FSA Designated Professional Body status for its members and is now trying to impose these conditions on the rest of the market.

"Whilst a number of our members, as part of their own business practices, already disclose remuneration automatically on all business, there is no need to make this mandatory and even less in the retail consumer market."

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