Our Methodology
We believe homeowners deserve transparent, objective information about property factors. This page explains exactly how we collect data, calculate tribunal risk ratings, and determine the scores you see on each factor's profile.
Our Data Sources
Every data point on Compare Factors comes from official, verifiable sources. We don't rely on subjective assessments or anonymous tips—only information that can be independently verified.
Tribunal Risk Rating
Our headline rating for each factor is based entirely on their history with the Housing and Property Chamber—Scotland's tribunal for disputes between homeowners and factors. This provides an objective measure based on official adjudicated outcomes, not opinion.
The rating uses a simple, transparent calculation: adverse tribunal cases per 10,000 properties managed for cases since 2021, with adjustments for enforcement orders.
How weighted cases are calculated: Regular adverse cases count as 1 point each. Cases where a PFEO was issued and complied with count as 1.5 points. Cases where a PFEO was breached count as 3 points. This weighting ensures enforcement orders—the tribunal's most serious sanction—carry appropriate weight in the calculation.
Using rates rather than raw counts ensures fair comparison. Scotland's largest factors manage tens of thousands of properties, while smaller firms might manage just a few hundred. Comparing absolute case numbers would unfairly penalise larger operations. A factor with 100 cases from 50,000 properties is performing better than one with 10 cases from 500 properties.
What Counts as an "Adverse" Case?
Not all tribunal cases are equal. We only count cases where the tribunal found against the factor:
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Complaints UpheldThe tribunal found the factor breached the Property Factor Code of Conduct. These cases count toward the risk rate.
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Complaints Partially UpheldThe tribunal found some breaches but not others. These count as adverse outcomes.
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Complaints Dismissed or RejectedCases where the homeowner's complaint was not upheld do not count against the factor.
This approach ensures factors aren't penalised for frivolous complaints that don't succeed at tribunal.
Enforcement Order Weighting
A Property Factor Enforcement Order (PFEO) is the most serious sanction the tribunal can impose. It's a legally binding order requiring the factor to take specific action, and failure to comply can result in prosecution.
We apply additional weight to cases involving PFEOs:
| Case Type | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Standard adverse case | Complaint upheld, no enforcement order | ×1.0 |
| PFEO Issued / Complied | Order was made, factor has since complied | ×1.5 |
| PFEO Breached | Factor failed to comply with an enforcement order | ×3.0 |
Any factor with two or more PFEO breaches since 2021 is rated ORANGE at minimum, regardless of their overall case rate. Multiple enforcement order failures indicate a pattern of regulatory non-compliance.
Rating Tiers Explained
After calculating the adjusted tribunal risk rate, factors are assigned to one of four rating tiers (plus a "Limited Data" category for very small factors):
| Rating | Meaning | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| CLEAN | No adverse tribunal history | Zero adverse cases since 2021 |
| GREEN | Low tribunal risk | Adjusted rate of 10 or fewer per 10,000 properties |
| ORANGE | Elevated tribunal risk | Adjusted rate between 11 and 30 per 10,000, OR 2+ PFEO breaches |
| RED | High tribunal risk | Adjusted rate above 30 per 10,000 |
| LIMITED DATA | Insufficient data to rate | Factor manages fewer than 50 properties (rates would be statistically unreliable) |
A factor managing 12,000 properties with 8 adverse tribunal cases since 2021. Seven are standard adverse cases, one involved a PFEO that was issued and complied with:
The risk rate of 7.08 falls within the GREEN threshold (≤10 per 10,000).
Special Rules
A few edge cases are handled with specific rules to ensure fair and sensible ratings:
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Low Case Volume ProtectionFactors with only 1-2 adverse cases in 5 years (and no PFEO breaches) are capped at GREEN. This prevents small factors from getting unfairly harsh ratings from a single case that would otherwise produce a high rate.
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Minimum Data RequirementFactors managing fewer than 50 properties receive a "Limited Data" designation instead of a rating. Statistical rates are unreliable at such small scales.
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Multiple PFEO Breaches = Minimum ORANGEAny factor with 2 or more PFEO breaches since 2021 is rated ORANGE at minimum, regardless of their case rate. If the rate also exceeds 30 per 10,000, they receive RED.
Customer Reviews
We aggregate customer reviews from Google and Trustpilot where available. These are displayed separately from the tribunal rating because they measure different things—customer satisfaction vs. regulatory compliance.
Review scores are weighted by review count when calculating combined ratings. A factor with 200 Google reviews at 4.2 stars carries more statistical weight than one with 5 reviews at 4.8 stars.
Online reviews can be influenced by fake reviews, review solicitation practices, or selection bias (unhappy customers are more likely to leave reviews). We present this data for context but recommend focusing on the tribunal record for objective assessment.
Limitations & Caveats
We believe in transparency about what our methodology can and cannot tell you:
- Property counts are estimates. For some factors, we don't have accurate property counts from FOI data. In these cases, we use a default estimate of 2,000 properties. This is flagged on affected profiles.
- Tribunal cases don't tell the whole story. A factor with zero tribunal cases isn't necessarily excellent—they might just have homeowners who don't know their rights. Conversely, some cases are dismissed or involve frivolous complaints (which we don't count).
- Data has a time lag. Tribunal decisions can take months to be published. Our data reflects published decisions, not ongoing cases.
- Tribunal data validation. Our tribunal data is derived from published Housing & Property Chamber decisions. We validate our dataset against HPC's official annual statistics, achieving close alignment on both case counts and homeowner success rates. Minor differences arise from two factors: (1) we count multi-applicant group applications as single decisions, measuring distinct complaint events rather than individual complainants, and (2) processing timing means recently published decisions may not yet be included. Our classification methodology is validated by near-exact matches on 'factor complied' counts across reporting periods, with success rates consistently within 3-5 percentage points of official figures.
- We only cover registered factors. Unregistered factors operating illegally won't appear in our database at all.
- Analysis period. We only consider cases since 2021. A factor's historical problems from a decade ago won't affect their current rating—which may or may not be appropriate depending on the circumstances.
Editorial Independence
Compare Factors Scotland is an independent service. Our ratings are calculated algorithmically from official data sources—no factor can pay for a better rating or to have negative information removed.
We may earn referral fees when homeowners request quotes through our platform. This commercial relationship is kept entirely separate from our scoring methodology. The factors we recommend in our "Get Quotes" service are chosen based on user location and factor availability, not payment.
If you believe any information on our site is inaccurate, please contact us with supporting evidence and we'll investigate promptly.