If you feel one of your fellow Realtors has done you wrong and in doing so violated one of the articles of Code of Ethics what could you.........what should you....do about it.
Step 1. Go to your local board or association and get an ethics violation complaint form.
Take it back home or to your office and fill it out in as much detail as possible, specifying the offense, when it was committed, how it was committed, and by whom.
Attach any supporting documentation you have, i.e. affidavits from witnesses, contacts, or any documentation related to the transaction or offense you believe has been committed.
Step 2. return your completed complaint form along with any supporting documentation to your local board or association.
They will notify the respondent that an allegation of the Code has been filed against him or her and give them a reasonable length of time to deliver a response.
Step 3. will be taken by your local grievance committee when they review your complaint as well as the respondent's side of the story, and decide if there is enough evidence of a violation of our Code of Ethics to send it up for a hearing by a professional standards committee.
If the decision to forward it on for a hearing you and the defendant will be notified of the hearing date and you both must appeal in person to tell your story to a Professional Standards hearing panel.
After hearing all testimony and reviewing the documentation they will meet in executive session and decide who's right, who's wrong and what to do about it.
They have a specificied list of punishments and educational requirements they can order for the offerder ranging from a letter of reprimand in their file to a fine or suspension or expulsion from membership in your local board or assocaition.
However in order to make this happen you have an affirmative obligation to start the process by filing a written complaint and following through with it.
Nothing will happen unless you start the ball rolling.
Most of what happens in our local boards or associations is up to us; our associations are what we make them or what we let them become.
Board staff should be able to advise you on the proper procedures and the mechanics of filing a complaint. You should file one if you feel someone has violated the Code of Ethics.
