Question 1
She is indignant that CEA has told her some of these are not its business at all, and wants to understand which of her grievances the Council will actually take up and which belong somewhere else entirely. A consumer brings CEA a bundle of grievances: a fee dispute with her agency, a deposit dispute with her landlord, a complaint that her agent forged her signature, and a co-broking fee dispute between two agents. She assumes CEA will decide them all.
Consider the following statements about what CEA does NOT itself adjudicate.
- (i) Her fee dispute with the agency goes to the Small Claims Tribunal or the courts, not CEA.
- (ii) Her complaint that the agent forged her signature will be handled by CEA as a civil money claim.
- (iii) Her deposit dispute with her landlord goes to the Small Claims Tribunal or the courts, not CEA.
- (iv) CEA will adjudicate her co-broking fee dispute between the two agents as a money claim.
Show the answer and full explanation
Answer: D
The rule. CEA handles conduct and disciplinary matters, not money disputes. A commission or deposit dispute goes to the Small Claims Tribunal or the courts; a forgery allegation is a criminal/police matter, not a CEA money claim; and CEA does not adjudicate a commission dispute between two agents as a money claim.
Why D is correct. (i) the consumer-agency money dispute and (iii) the landlord-tenant deposit dispute both go to the Tribunal or courts, not CEA. (ii) is false — forgery is not a CEA civil money claim. (iv) is false — CEA does not adjudicate the co-broking fee dispute as a money claim.
The other options.
- A wrongly includes (ii) and (iv).
- B wrongly includes (iv), the co-broking money claim.
- C wrongly includes (iv) and drops the deposit dispute at (iii).
Exam note. CEA is a conduct regulator, not a small-claims court. Money disputes and forgery go elsewhere.
CEA handles conduct and disciplinary matters, not money disputes →