The OFT is the supervisory body for Estate Agents and the key issue effecting you stated in their guidance is that “You must put in place checks, controls and procedures in order to anticipate and prevent money laundering or terrorist financing”.

It is vitally important to fully appreciate that just taking passport and utility bill copies does not address this important point and that using only this method of
ID Verification is COMPLETELY ILLEGAL.

Confirmation of this point specifically, direct from the OFT can be found by clicking on the Latest News link, which shows email communications addressing exactly this confusion with the OFT.

To stay on the right side of the law each new client must be risk scored to analyse their exact status and also checked against both the Sanction’s and PEP’s databases before you are legally able to accept them as a client. And full documentary evidence of the completion of these checks must be kept for at least five years. It is also very important to appreciate that the OFT have recruited new team members specifically to make sure that you are operating within the law and any Estate Agents that have not implemented the regulations in full are leaving themselves wide open to prosecution and penalties.

Unlike banks or accountants, Estate Agents have not been set up to complete Identity Checks and are more often than not finding it a completely alien concept. Fortunately www.1stforhips.com has established a quick and simple electronic solution that provides the fastest, most comprehensive and securest way of establishing identity and ensuring you are kept on the right side of the Money Laundering laws.

If you are unsure about the regulations and how they effect your company in any way please contact us the Office of Fair Trading (the supervisory body for Estate Agents with regard to the new Money Laundering laws) and they will confirm everything that we have detailed.

So your only decision regarding the regulations is whether or not you are going to spend thousands of pounds and a great deal of your valuable time setting up manual systems, training staff, managing the results and paying for external Credit Checks at up to £30 a time to complete the ID verification that you must do by law…

Or if you are going to skip the learning curve and instantly set yourself up with a completely FREE ID Verification system that not only meets every aspect of the legal requirements but also combines this with the significant advantages to your business of FREE Virtual Tours, FREE Floor Plans, FREE Sign Text and a FREE Home Staging Guide, which are guaranteed to generate you additional instructions.

www.1stforhips.com have incorporated an entire ID solution into our HIP ordering process, providing not only a powerful and effective weapon against your company being used to launder the proceeds of crime also enabling you to address this legislation instantly, with confidence and certainty.

The system automatically interrogates a wide range of approved and independent, positive and negative data sources, which then subsequently delivers a report to you that provides everything you legally need.

If you want to get on the right side of the law from today and set up your ID Verification immediately for FREE and without any hassle, just call www.1stforhips.com now on 0844 556 0122 and we’ll make sure that we help you to not only offer the best Estate Agent service in your area but more importantly that your business is operating within the law.