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Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution services (Read 9,560 times)
Dave
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Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution services
Mar 26th, 2008 at 4:32pm
 
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/bulletins/comp_bull_index/comp_bull_ocases/open_all/cw_9...

Second Ofcom own-initiative investigation against various Communications Providers about enforcement of the requirement to implement and comply with a Dispute Resolution Scheme

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Ofcom has opened an industry wide investigation into compliance with GC 14.7, which requires Communications Providers to implement and comply with an Ofcom approved independent Dispute Resolution Scheme for their domestic and small business customers, in relation to the provision of public electronic communications services.

Two such Dispute Resolution Schemes have been approved by Ofcom. They are the Office of Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) ( http://www.otelo.org.uk) and the Communication and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) (http://www.cisas.org.uk/ ).

The investigation will monitor compliance with GC 14.7 across the industry and will target those Communications Providers who are not members of an Ofcom approved Scheme.

Remedial action could also follow any non-compliance with GC 14.7. Under section 94 of the Communications Act 2003 ("the Act"), Ofcom may issue a notification where it has reasonable grounds for believing there has been a contravention of a General Condition.

Further, under Section 96 of the Act, Ofcom may impose a penalty of up to 10 per cent of relevant turnover for failure to comply with such a notification within the time period specified.
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NGMsGhost
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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #1 - Mar 29th, 2008 at 1:47am
 
It would seem that the time of reckoning for the Finarea group and their various non ADR compliant telecoms brands such as 1899, 18185 and 18866 may finally be at hand.

I'm rather off Finarea and 18185 at the moment after they connected a correctly dialled mobile phone call (verified by their online billing record and call time and length) to my mother recovering from a hip operation to some kind of crazed lunatic in a council house with a huge vicious barking dog while Bloomberg (which my mother does watch) was playing in the background.  Instead of saying wrong number the guy said "hang on a moment" and  put the phone down still connected and let me listen to minutes of the barking dog before I finally hung up.  Then when I rang back again the call went to voicemail each time (as it was now routing correctly and the mobile phone was switched off).

Needless to say with Finarea  a cusomer service enquiry as to why this call misrouted to another uk number would get me precisely nowhere. Angry
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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #2 - Sep 19th, 2008 at 11:27am
 
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/bulletins/comp_bull_index/comp_bull_ccases/closed_all/cw...

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Ofcom has now completed its assessment of industry compliance with GC 14.7 which requires Communications Providers (‘CPs’) to implement and comply with an independent Dispute Resolution Scheme for their domestic and small business customers, in relation to the provision of public electronic communications services (‘ PECS ’).

The programme targeted CPs that had been identified as not being members of an approved scheme and who had complaints made against them to Ofcom in the six months before the programme was opened. Ofcom wrote to those CPs and as a result, we are satisfied that those who were confirmed as providing PECS , have now joined or are in the process of joining an approved Dispute Resolution Scheme.
>>


This suggests that those CPs who no one had complained about who aren't a member of a ADR service weren't targeted.
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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #3 - Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:06pm
 
Dave wrote on Sep 19th, 2008 at 11:27am:
This suggests that those CPs who no one had complained about who aren't a member of a ADR service weren't targeted.


How difficult would it be for Ofcom to look at a list of all CPs and then a list of all of the members of CISAS and Otelo and then write to any who do not belong to one of them threatening the appropriate sanction if they do not join within x days.  Or if they have not been a member of CISAS or Otelo for a very long time then surely they should be fined or penalised just as those of us who do not file our income tax on time or renew our car tax disc on time or get an MOT would be automatically penalised.

Of course that would mean Ofcom actually being proactive and operating equitably and fairly across the whole industry instead of behaving, as it does, like a cosy old boys club for members of the UK telecommunications industry. Wink Roll Eyes Angry
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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #4 - Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:30pm
 
NGMsGhost wrote on Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:06pm:
Of course that would mean Ofcom actually being proactive and operating equitably and fairly across the whole industry instead of behaving, as it does, like a cosy old boys club for members of the UK telecommunications industry. Wink Roll Eyes Angry

Ofcom and PhonePayPlus only act on complaints rather than being proactice. This is a fundamentally flawed culture which relies on consumers to complain in order to make things better.

This is nonsense! Imagine if you complained every time you experienced something which you considered wasn't right. The time you would spend would not be worth the benefit. The more events that cause you to complain actually have a reverse effect in that over time you are less likely to complain because doing so has no or little effect.

So the yardstick of whether something is acceptable or not [in this case whether all telcos should be members of ODR schemes] is taken by bodies like Ofcom as being the volume of complaints.
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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #5 - Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:01pm
 
Dave wrote on Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:30pm:
Ofcom and PhonePayPlus only act on complaints rather than being proactice. This is a fundamentally flawed culture which relies on consumers to complain in order to make things better.


And their call centre has an elaborate system of confidence trickery in place to prevent most calls from members of the public being logged as official complaints that might trigger any such investigations.

Since they are on a fixed budget it all seems to be about keeping their costs down so that they can pay more of it as bonuses, salaries and over inflated pensions to their own most senior staff.  They don't get measured at all on their peformance in managing to take action to prevent the general public from being scammed. Shocked Angry Smiley

Instead they benefit financially from being lax in regulation so that as few disputes as possible to go the Competition Commission and so don't cost them expensive legal fees to defend any controversial decisions that they might think of taking.
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« Last Edit: Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:03pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #6 - Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:19pm
 
Dave wrote on Sep 19th, 2008 at 12:30pm:
Ofcom and PhonePayPlus only act on complaints rather than being proactice...
Not so sure 'act' can be used accurately here.  99.9% of the time Ofcom just direct you to ADR scheme or somewhere else even if you report that a OCP isnt complying with one of their own codes of practice, general condition, potentially unfair terms & conditions, etc.  I think basically anything they can do so as not to actually investigate it.

Simply writing to Ofcom doesn't necessary mean they log it as a complaint even if its obvious.  Looks like you have to spell it out to them by directly mentioning it.
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« Last Edit: Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:21pm by bbb_uk »  
 
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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #7 - Sep 19th, 2008 at 2:39pm
 
bbb_uk wrote on Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:19pm:
Not so sure 'act' can be used accurately here.  99.9% of the time Ofcom just direct you to ADR scheme or somewhere else even if you report that a OCP isnt complying with one of their own codes of practice, general condition, potentially unfair terms & conditions, etc.  I think basically anything they can do so as not to actually investigate it.

Simply writing to Ofcom doesn't necessary mean they log it as a complaint even if its obvious.  Looks like you have to spell it out to them by directly mentioning it.


You have clearly had precisely the same experiences of Ofcom's useless Contact Centre, its hopeless staff and their organisation's quite deliberate manipulation of statistics whilst doing nothing to help the caller as I have had bbb.

I'm pretty sure that amongst Ofcom's middle and lower ranking staff they must have some normal telecoms consumers who don't like being ripped off for making 084/7 calls.  The fact that even they can't manage to get the complaints properly raised or any investigation started by Ofcom against the principal abusers tells you just how much of a covert agenda there is amongst senior management at Ofcom (in collusion with the government) to let the telcos do as they please and to fiddle the figures to make it appear that almost no one is raising any complaints with Ofcom. Shocked Angry Smiley
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« Last Edit: Sep 19th, 2008 at 2:40pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Re: Ofcom investigation: Dispute resolution servic
Reply #8 - Jun 21st, 2009 at 3:43pm
 
Source: Ofcom

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2009/05/nr_20090519

19|05|09
A swifter resolution to telecoms complaints

The time consumers will have to wait to seek an independent resolution of their disputes with communications providers will be reduced under new rules introduced by Ofcom.

Under the present system, consumers must allow twelve weeks for their communications provider to resolve their problem before taking their complaint to a dispute resolution service.

New rules, which come into force on 1 September 09, mean that consumers can use the dispute resolution service eight weeks after making an initial complaint to the communications provider.

Ofcom receives thousands of calls each week from consumers who are dissatisfied with their provider. A communications provider should be allowed a reasonable amount of time to resolve a consumer’s complaint but our research shows that complaints are almost as likely to remain unresolved at twelve weeks as they are at eight.

How to make a complaint

All communications providers must have and comply with an Ofcom-approved Code of Practice for complaints and be a member of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

There are currently two Ofcom-approved schemes – CISAS and Otelo – which offer free dispute resolution services to consumers. Following an application by a consumer, the relevant scheme will examine the case. Any decision is binding and the communications provider could be required to take necessary action and may include financial compensation for the consumer.

If a communications provider does not comply with these regulations Ofcom is able to fine up to 10 per cent of its annual relevant turnover.

A guide for consumers on how to make a complaint about their communications provider can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/guides/complain.pdf.

Review of ADR schemes

Ofcom has also set out the criteria we intend to use in our review of the approval of ADR schemes, scheduled for 2010. We will be making sure that the schemes are accessible, independent, fair, efficient, transparent, effective and accountable.

The full statement can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/alt_dis_res/statement/.

Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed Richards, said: “The vast majority of consumers are happy with their telecoms services. For the minority who aren’t we want to ensure that customers get a fair and swift resolution to their disputes.”
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