| Formation | Operational: January 2015 |
|---|---|
| Type | Ombudsman |
| Headquarters | London |
| Location |
|
Chief Ombudsman | Dean Dunham |
The Retail Ombudsman (TRO) was an Ombudsman for the retail industry in the United Kingdom from January 2015 to July 2017. Its role was to resolve disputes between retailers and retail customers. [1]
In July 2015 The EU Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive was planned to come into force. It was delayed until 1 October 2015 in line with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Under the new system companies are obliged to point customers to private complaints-handling companies but would not be bound by their decisions unless they agreed to subscribe to the ADR scheme. This directive allowed for more private companies to handle consumer complaints in sectors including retail, aviation, furniture and property.
On 1 January 2015, barrister Dean Dunham started as the Chief Ombudsman at the Retail Ombudsman.
The Retail Ombudsman was a retail alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme, and was set up to resolve disputes between shops and customers. [2] During its first weekend in business, the Retail Ombudsman claimed to have received more than 300 complaints. [3]
Sir Eric Peacock was chairman of the Retail Ombudsman. [4]
It also set up a product recall website in June 2016. [5] It was removed some months after the change in Ombudsman status. [6]
In July 2017, the Retail Ombudsman resigned its membership of the Ombudsman Association (the trade association for ombudsmen in the UK), and changed its name to RetailADR.
In May 2018, Which? reported that the Ombudsman Association allowed The Retail Ombudsman to call itself an ombudsman for more than a year before investigating and that The Retail Ombudsman ‘did not meet the OA’s membership criteria for independence, fairness, effectiveness, openness and transparency, and accountability’ and did not complete the re-validation process before TRO resigned. [7]
It also implied that Sainsbury's, Tesco and others were members by using their logos in the 2015 Annual report. [8]
Online dispute resolution (ODR) is a form of dispute resolution which uses technology to facilitate the resolution of disputes between parties. It primarily involves negotiation, mediation or arbitration, or a combination of all three. In this respect it is often seen as being the online equivalent of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). However, ODR can also augment these traditional means of resolving disputes by applying innovative techniques and online technologies to the process.
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An organizational ombudsman is a designated neutral or impartial dispute resolution practitioner whose major function is to provide independent, impartial, confidential and informal assistance to managers and employees, clients and/or other stakeholders of a corporation, university, non-governmental organization, governmental agency or other entity. As an independent and neutral employee, the organizational ombudsman ideally should have no other role or duties. This is in order to maintain independence and neutrality, and to prevent real or perceived conflicts of interest.
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Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for disagreeing parties who cannot come to an agreement short of litigation. However, ADR is also increasingly being adopted as a tool to help settle disputes within the court system.
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The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman (FHIO), formerly The Furniture Ombudsman (TFO) is an independent not for profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It specialises in alternative dispute resolution for customers of its members in the retail, furniture and home improvement industries. As a membership-based scheme, it also provides training and education services to its members which aim to raise standards, improve service and inspire consumer confidence. Kevin Grix, a non-practising barrister, was appointed the Chief Ombudsman in 2008.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations.
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