autumn 2015 round-up letting agents to publicise fees From 27 May 2015, all residential letting agents and property management businesses are required to display their fees and charges to clients both landlords and tenants. Failing to do so could result in a 5,000 penalty notice from Trading Standards. If your business engages in introducing prospective tenants to landlords, arranging assured tenancy contracts, or carrying out property management services for landlords, then you are obliged to display fees, charges and penalties in all your physical offices and on your website in a conspicuous place. ROUND-UP A general description, such as administration fee, is not permitted. Each amount on the list should have an adequate description of its purpose and be clear if the fee is to be paid by each tenant or just once for the accommodation. The amount shown must include all taxes and, where applicable, the method of calculating the fee if the fee cannot be determined in advance. In England only, letting agents engaging in letting agency/property management work must also display a statement confirming which client money protection scheme they use and which redress scheme they are a member of. Requiring agents to be upfront about fees and charges will help consumers and landlords to be better informed and enable them to compare services on offer before signing up to a lengthy contract. Credit: James Greenaway Images: David Fowler / Shutterstock blurring the battle lines Disputes happen. Conflict, whether with customers or other businesses, is an unavoidable fact of life. Since 2002, Ombudsman Services has been providing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to help solve issues when they arise. Ombudsman Services is the UKs leading multi-sector ombudsman, responsible for handling tens of thousands of consumer and business disputes each year across sectors, including energy, communications, property, Green Deal, copyright and intellectual property, financial services and the hometrade sectors. The organisation is finding that, as it grows, it is being asked to provide services outside the scope of its traditional coverage. As such, it has introduced a new commercial dispute resolution service for firms across the UK and Ireland, known as Ombudsman Services: The Commercial Ombudsman. Formally launched on 2 September 2015, the Commercial Ombudsman is available to use on an ad hoc basis by businesses engaged in commercial disputes, either by agreement or by the activation of a contract clause. fInd out moRe For more information, email osbusinessdevelopment@ombudsmanservices.org The initial service offered will be mediation, and it will add arbitration, construction, adjudication and other innovations over the coming months. In addition, it will offer guidance to those businesses that have a dispute but have not been involved in commercial ADR before. Credit: Helen Louise-Smith Images: eelnosiva / Shutterstock fakIng It the fakes helpline is a phone line dedicated to answering anonymous calls about fake goods, set up by the Central england trading Standards authorities. anyone who knows of or suspects fakes are being sold in their community are encouraged to call, to help trading Standards gather intelligence and seize counterfeit goods. Consumption of fake cigarettes and alcohol can have serious health implications, in some cases leading to liver and kidney disease, blindness and coma. Such activity is often linked to drugs and organised crime that crosses international borders, and also leads to job losses among genuine manufacturers. to report anything suspicious, call 0300 303 2636 or visit CEnTSAs home page.