Remaining compliant and being fair
Having the correct DEA terms and conditions that satisfy both the terms of your accreditation scheme and the terms under which you perform your duties for homesellers can be a worrisome (and expensive) challenge.
On top of that, there are the additional contracts provided by the various panels which, it has been claimed, may entail DEAs operating outside of their accreditation schemes' rules!
It's a legal minefield
To add yet more landmines to the terrain, there is also the matter of complying with your insurance requirements too.
Stitching all of the competing demands together in a way that both protects everybody's interest in a fair and equitable way, whilst also complying with the terms of your accreditation is no trivial undertaking by any means.
But if there's anybody qualified and experienced enough to do it, Dawn Pillans is probably your lady.
Some of you will have already heard of Dawn Pillans: She's tirelessly worked behind-the-scenes studying Govt. legislation and marrying those up against the terms and conditions of both accreditation schemes and panels alike. She has not been shy in pointing out problem areas to those organisations either!
She is a qualified solicitor with an impressive CV and her work and observations into the legal field of the domestic Energy Performance Certificate has attracted the attention of the CLG, which subsequently invited her to present her findings.
Back in July 2007, she was the legal brains behind the now disbanded ASHIEA project (Read more: DEA Terms and Conditions for £50) which put together a comprehensive set of T&Cs for around 280 DEAs.
Dawn has now setup Dawn2Dusk which preserves and builds upon the work she did for ASHIEA last year, including a new set of T&Cs which cater for DEAs diversifying into HIP provision.
And before you ask; no, I don't get a commission for this write-up! I just know she has taken a keen personal interest into this for longer than many DEAs have been qualified. She has also gone out of her way to attend DEA meetings around the country and generally raise awareness of the issues and ramifications of complying with some of the demands made by some of the T&Cs out there.
Every industry needs its experts and currently, Dawn is probably the only legal expert that has been around since the start of HIPs; it would be a loss to lose the experience she has gained so far.
Plus, she's a fearless lass, not afraid to get on the blower and pick-apart someone's terms and conditions and/or name and shame.
It's probably best she is on your side, than the other!
Tags: dea-terms-and-conditions
