Posted by MFRMLS
Mon, 05 Jun 2006 20:55:00 GMT
Article 11 - Compliance with Rules
Section 4: Penalties for Inaccurate or Incomplete Data. The intent of these Rules and Regulations is to allow Participants to provide the buying and selling public the best possible service and to facilitate cooperation between Participants. The listing office will be notified in writing or by electronic means if there is a violation of the Rules and Regulations.
A. Progressive Fines
a. Courtesy Warning Notice. The Service will automatically issue a courtesy warning notification prior to any fine being issued, except for any violation resulting in an automatic fine as defined in these Rules and Regulations. Courtesy Warning Notice will be sent for potential violations of the following:
b. If the violation is corrected within one business day (excluding weekends and holidays), there will be no fine assessed;
c. If the violation has not been corrected within one business day (excluding weekends and holidays) after notification, the Participant or Subscriber shall automatically be assessed a fine.
d. Repeated or deliberate violation of the same rule by the same subscriber will immediately be subject to the progressive fine schedule with no further notice.
B. Automatic Fines. The Service will automatically issue a fine with no prior warning for potential violations of the following:
a. Status
b. Failure to obtain owner(s) of record signature
c. Allowing unauthorized access
d. Not abiding by showing instruction
e. Not correcting incorrect information after a fine has been paid.
C. General Fine Schedule. The following progressive fine schedule has been established by the Board of Directors and applies to both to Progressive or Automatic Fines.
a. 1st offense within two year period: $ 50
b. 2nd offense within two year period: $100
c. 3rd offense within two year period: $250 and notification that a fourth offense will require a disciplinary hearing before a Board hearing panel.
d. 4th offense within two year period: $500 minimum fine and other discipline as determined by a Board hearing panel.
The progressive fine schedule is per-agent per-offense and any Rule violation is counted as an offense. The term “within a two-year period” is defined as occurring within any two consecutive MFRMLS fiscal years (July 1-June 30). Fines are billed to the Agent, the Participant is ultimately responsible.
D. Other Fines.The following potential violations are more serious in nature and fines have been established accordingly
a. Housing for Older Persons. Due to the serious nature of this offense under the Fair Housing laws the fine for violations will be as follows:
a) Automatic $500 for each occurrence for the first three violations within one year.
b) Fourth violation within one year will require the Participant/User to appear for a hearing in accordance with the MFR Rules and Regulations.
b. Listing Manipulation: Manipulation of listing status as noted in Article X/Y is subject to the following fine schedule:
a) 1st Offense: $50 Fine
b) 2nd Offense: $1,000 Fine
c) 3rd Offense: $2,000 Fine
d) 4th Offense: At least a 30 day service suspension at the discretion of the Board of Directors following the opportunity for a hearing.
c. Status Changes: Failure to report a status change within two business days after all necessary signatures are obtained. Should a Participant discover that a change in status has not been reported prior to a fine being issued, the error may be corrected, however the Administrative Department must be contacted immediately with the information by email, phone or fax to avoid the issuance of a fine.
a) 1st offense within two year period: $100
b) 2nd Offense within two year period: $200
c) 3rd Offense within two year period: $500 and notification that a fourth offense within two years requires a disciplinary hearing before the Board of Directors or a Board-appointed panel.
d) 4th Offense within two year period: $1,000 Minimum and appearance at a hearing in accordance with these Rules and Regulations.
d. Password Sharing/ScoutMLS: Failure to abide by the Rules and Regulations that prohibit any sharing of passwords. The following progressive fine schedule has been established by the Board of Directors and applies to both to Progressive and Automatic Fines.
a) 1st Offense: Change Password (must contain at least 8 alpha characters)
b) 2nd Offense: Another reminder of continued sharing.
c) 3rd Offense: $50
d) 4th Offense: $100
e) 5th Offense: $250
f) 6th Offense: $500 and change password. (must contain at least 8 alpha characters)
g) 7th Offense: Notice; if sharing continues this matter will be sent to the Hearing Panel.
h) 8th Offense: Fine, not to exceed $5,000. Hearing Panel will review for discipline and fine amount.
e. Incorrect/Incomplete Information: For failing to correct the information after a fine has been paid. The Participant will be assessed an additional fine of $500 for each occurrence.
f. Failure to Obtain Owner(s) of Record Signatures on Changes: For failure to obtain the owner(s) of record signature on a change in status, the Participant will be assessed a fine of $500 for each occurrence.
g. Failure to Obtain Required Signatures on Listing: For failure to obtain the owner(s) of record signatures prior to entering the listing, the Participant shall be assessed a fine up to $2,500 for each occurrence.
h. Allowing Unauthorized Access: A fine of up to $5,000 as determined by the Board of Directors for each occurrence will be assessed against any Participant/User found to have allowed or provided access to the MFRMLS system by an unauthorized person.
i. Use of Contact Information: Members who provide contact information to any party for other than member/member communication will be subject to an automatic fine. (New 11/18/11)
a) 1st Offense: $1,000 Fine
b) 2nd Offense: $5,000 Fine
Posted in Article 11 Compliance with Rules, Violations
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