According to HM Revenue & Customs, there were more than 930,000 residential property sales in the UK last year, which suggests around 9,000 were in the quick-sale sector. The OFT estimates an average quick-sale deal was around ￡100,000.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says the charity has seen people left “high and dry” when certain companies have gone back on their promises: “Rogue operators must be tackled so that people can be confident they are dealing with a trustworthy, responsible company.”

The Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, has called for legislation of the sector. “This report reveals that there is yet another area of the property sector where there is no formal regulatory framework,” he says.

“Consumers using quick house-sale firms have no access to independent redress and the risks associated with this are significant. While I note that the OFT is pursuing a self-regulatory approach, the only way of realistically ensuring all such firms provide consistent service is through legislation.”

Gateway Homes said that Mrs Baker was advised to take independent legal advice before signing the agreement and was informed the company intended to resell the property for a profit. A spokeswoman said the original offer was reduced following a survey that found electrical and damp problems, which in their opinion left the property “unmortgageable”.

She said: “It was entirely Mrs Baker’s decision whether to accept that offer or not.

“Dissatisfied customers represent less than 1pc of all our customers. Our priority is to reduce that percentage even further.”

Kate Faulkner, who runs the property advice site property checklists.co.uk, says that if homeowners are going to go down the quick-sales route, they should look for large businesses that have been around for some time.