Consumer Rights and complaints

Question 1

What are the consumers rights?

Answer 1

• Clear and honest information before they buy
• Get what they paid for
• Be supplied with goods that are fit for purpose and be provided
• have any faults corrected (free of charge) or a refund/replacement
  Consumer Rights Act 2015

Question 2

What does the consumer rights act 2015 cover?

Answer 2

• What to do when goods are faulty
• How services should match up to what has been agreed and what should happen when they do not
• What should happen when goods and services are not provided with reasonable care and skill
• Unfair terms in contracts
• Greater flexibility for organisations such as FCA or Trading Standards to respond to breaches of consumer law

Question 3

Where is the complaints handled information?

Answer 3

Dispute Resolution (DISP) sourcebook of the Handbook

Question 4

Who does the complaints relate towards

Answer 4

• Consumers
• Micro-enterprises = small businesses that employer fewer than 10 people and have turnover of annual balance sheet that does not exceed 2m euros
• Charities with an annual income below £1m at the time the complaint was made
• Trustees of a trust had a net asset value of less than £1m at the time the complaint was made

Question 5

What did the Financial Services Markets Act 2000 create for the FOS?

Answer 5

They centralized the ombudsman financial services section as it was fragmented
All authorized firms must be members of the FOS and help to fund the services

Question 6

What is the FOS?

Answer 6

Financial Ombudsman - it is tax available to complainants who have exhausted a firms internal complaints procedures and are not satisfied with the resolution

Question 7

What are the range of actions available to the FOS?

Answer 7

• It can make a financial award to the complainant of £150K plus reasonable costs and interest (purpose of the award is to put customer back to where they were)
• It can make a recommendation to the firm that they pay more than the maximum figure but the firm is under no obligation
• It can direct to non-financial actions
• Can be both financial and direction of steps to take

Question 8

What is the FLA mediation service?

Answer 8

Customers of member firms that are under FLA’s Business Finance Code - FLA offers service and it is run by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators who will appoint a qualified mediator if necessary

Question 9

What does the FLA mediation service involve?

Answer 9

• Meeting at neutral place, designed to resolve disputes quickly and cost-effectively
• they can still continue or begin court proceedings
• If no resolution wont affect the right to defend complaint or take it further
• one working day no more than 6 hours
  Fee is based on the amount of the dispute