New ADR rules

The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 bring in further changes that will affect consumers, providers of goods and services, and providers of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services (such as ACCA).

The purpose of the regulations is to ensure that ADR is available for all contractual disputes arising out of complaints by consumers, and ACCA has produced Technical Factsheet 192 as guidance to practitioners.

While ACCA already provides ADR by way of its Conciliation Service, the factsheet explains the impact of the recent legislation on ACCA’s policies and procedures, and shows how ACCA delivers the service.

It also highlights a number of resources available to members in order to assist them with compliance.

As a result of the new regulations, once a firm’s internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, it is required that the firm communicate certain facts to a client, including that ACCA is competent to deal with the complaint, and whether the practice would be prepared to submit to ACCA’s conciliation process should ACCA consider that the complaint is suitable for that process.

Although a member of ACCA would be required to cooperate in the investigation of a complaint, a member is not obliged to submit to the conciliation process.

Where they do submit to the conciliation service:

• ACCA will be the ADR entity for a practice in which one or more principals are ACCA members.
• ACCA does not charge a fee for using the Conciliation Service, and disputes will only be considered after they have been assessed and considered suitable for conciliation.
• ACCA currently cannot consider cases in respect of firms that (although within the scope of the ADR regulations) fall outside the scope of ACCA regulation.

The ADR regulations require the practice to disclose to the consumer (on a durable medium) the following:

• that the practice has been unable to resolve the complaint
• that ACCA is competent to deal with the complaint, should the consumer wish to further the complaint
• ACCA’s website address
• that the practice is not obliged to submit to ACCA’s conciliation process should ACCA consider that the complaint is suitable for conciliation
• whether the practice would be prepared to submit to ACCA’s conciliation process should ACCA consider that the complaint is suitable for conciliation.

ACCA and its members are required to be compliant by 9 July 2015.

Technical Factsheet 192 is available on the ACCA website, and there is also a guidance note to assist members in implementing internal complaints-handling procedures.