HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England, October 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Reporting on its first year operating across the entire United Kingdom, The Dispute Service has published new figures confirming it as the leading force in tenancy deposit protection.
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The Tenancy Deposit Scheme, the scheme operated by The Dispute Service in England and Wales, now protects deposits to the value of £1.2 billion - over £340milllion more than any other scheme.
The Dispute Service has also soared ahead in Northern Ireland where deposit protection regulations came into force in April 2013. In its first year TDS Northern Ireland has taken an extraordinary 75% of the market share.
SafeDeposits Scotland, of which The Dispute Service is lead partner providing key operational services, also dominates their market protecting 58% of all tenancy deposits registered in the country.
Commenting on the latest Annual Review, Chief Executive Steve Harriott said;
"The figures published in the report confirm that The Dispute Service is now well established as the UK's leading force in tenancy deposit protection.
"More importantly, customers remain consistently happy with our outstanding levels of service. As a not for profit scheme we continue to focus on the needs of customers, not shareholders. Improvements to services have been driven by engagement with members."
The Dispute Service is the only not for profit provider of tenancy deposit protection services. The company saw a modest surplus as a result of reduced membership fees and discount structures introduced in previous financial years, as well as directing greater investment towards service improvements, including a new online disputes portal.
Disputes at the Tenancy Deposit Scheme grew to almost 9,500 in the year and the average amount in dispute also increased to £860. However, the percentage of deposits which ended in dispute fell for the first time to 0.87%, a possible indicator that disputes over smaller amounts are more often being resolved internally.
The biggest causes of deposit disputes remain cleaning (53%) and damage (46%), and as in previous years there is a broadly equal divide in the amounts awarded to tenants (52%) and landlords/agents (48%).
Whilst Scotland has followed similar patterns for disputes as England and Wales, TDS Northern Ireland gave some surprising results where rent arrears was the biggest cause of dispute and 60% of the total awards went to the landlord or agent.
The Dispute Service Annual Review can be downloaded here http://www.tds.gb.com/annual-reports.html
Hard copies are available free of charge, please contact customer.relations@tds.gb.com
For more information please contact
Chris Kendall
Communications Officer, The Dispute Service
chris.kendall@tds.gb.com
+44(0)1442-780560
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