Living in an Ombuds(man’s) world
For over a century, International Women’s Day, held on 8 March each year has marked a day of celebration and advocacy for women’s rights and equality around the world. To celebrate, Deputy Chief Ombudsman at the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman, Judith Turner tells us about the ever changing Ombudsman landscape, how the pandemic has affected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the retail industry and what challenges she’s faced as a woman in her career.
What is an Ombudsman?
It’s a gender-neutral title for a person or independent body that investigates complaints in a fair and open way to try and reach a resolution without going to court. An Ombudsman is the job title of the individual who is charged with investigating and addressing disputes and helping both sides come to an agreement. It’s a term originating from Scandinavia, as Sweden became the first country to appoint an independent official known as an ombudsman to investigate complaints against government officials and agencies.
How does an Ombudsman scheme benefit businesses?
The Dispute Resolution Ombudsman (DRO) is an independent, not-for-profit, government approved voluntary Ombudsman scheme providing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). We offer ADR training and advice to businesses and consumers and are a scheme set up by the Office of Fair Trading in 1992, working to protect consumers’ rights and promote fair trade.
And consumers?
We provide alternative dispute resolution for unresolved disputes against businesses who are members of our scheme. This means that consumers who purchase from one of our members have an alternative to going to court which is free for them to use and the resolution is binding on the business in question.
Membership of the Ombudsman provides consumers with peace of mind that they have an independent route to recourse if things go wrong, which sometimes, despite a businesses’ best endeavours, they do.
What changes have you seen to the ADR landscape over the years?
I’ve definitely seen more emphasis placed on consumers having access to and knowledge of their rights. There seems to be a greater awareness of the channels which are at the public’s disposal should they require further redress to their complaints without going down the route of using the court system. There’s also been more of a shift in this technological era, in which consumers are logging their complaints online, as opposed to over the phone or via the post as they have done in the past.
It’s important that we adapt to our current and future users’ needs, staying ahead of technological advances whilst retaining accessible channels to ensure those without or with limited technical means do not become disenfranchised. If ADR is not accessible to and discoverable by all there is a risk that access to justice could be compromised
