If your business deals with consumers, you should be aware of the obligations on you to provide consumers with certain information in the event of a dispute. Earlier this year, two new alternative dispute resolution regimes came into force – the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015, made in March, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Amendment) Regulations 2015, made in June.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a process where an independent third party considers the evidence in a dispute and make a decision or helps the parties to resolve the dispute, depending on the type of ADR that is chosen. It is referred to as “alternative” because it is an alternative to pursuing the case through the courts. ADR is initiated after the trader and the consumer have had an opportunity to resolve the dispute directly.
The requirements of these regulations apply to all businesses in the UK that sell goods, digital content and/or services to consumers (with the exception of health professionals).
The key elements of the Regulations are:
- All traders selling to consumers are to have access to a certified provider of ADR services in their sector.
- The use of ADR is not mandatory for traders, unless sector specific requirements already exist. If such requirements exist, the trader must:
- give the consumer details of the certified ADR provider in their sector (the name and website address of the ADR entity on the trader’s website and in its general terms and conditions of sale or service contracts between the trader and the consumer); And
- inform the consumer about whether they intend to use that provider.
- From 1 October 2015, all traders selling to consumers, whether or not they intend to use ADR, who receive a complaint from a consumer about a contract and is unable to resolve the complaint with them using its own internal complaints procedure, will need to inform the consumer on a durable medium (could be by letter, text or email but not on a website):
- that it cannot settle the complaint;
- the name and website address of the relevant ADR provider; and
- whether it is obliged or prepared to make use of the ADR provider.
What you can do?
- Find out if you are in a mandatory sector specific area.
- Find out who your sector specific certified ADR provider is. A list of certified ADR providers, and the sectors they cover, can be found at trading standards.
- Consider whether you wish to use a certified ADR provider.
- Ensure that you are giving consumers the necessary details of the ADR provider, whether or not one is being used.
