Dispute settlement
When a customer and a WBWO member can’t agree, we help them settle it: first by talking it through, then through mediation, and if needed by an independent decision. Every complaint is decided within 27 working days.
The stages, and how long each takes
- Within 2 working days
We review your complaint
You confirm your email and get a case number. We check the business is a WBWO member and that the complaint is one we can deal with, usually about something in the last 12 months.
- Within 5 working days
The business responds
We pass your complaint to the business, which must reply. Most complaints are settled at this stage.
- Up to 10 working days
Mediation
If you can’t agree, a WBWO mediator works with both sides to find a solution. Anything agreed is written down in the case.
- Within 10 working days
Panel decision
If mediation doesn’t settle it, the Consumer Protection Panel decides and explains why in writing. The member has 7 days to put things right, or risks losing its certification.
The Consumer Protection Panel
The panel decides complaints that mediation can’t settle. Each case is decided by three panel members, at least one of whom isn’t connected to any WBWO member business. Nobody who has a link to the business, or to the person complaining, takes part.
The panel decides on what both sides have sent, and what the business has promised in the WBWO Code of Conduct. It can require the member to return money taken dishonestly, deliver what it was paid for, stop charging or misusing someone’s details, or correct false claims about itself.
Its decisions aren’t court judgments. They bind members because members agree to them when they join. You don’t have to accept a decision, and you keep the right to go to court or a consumer authority.
What the outcomes mean
- Resolved by agreement
- You and the business agreed a solution, through WBWO or between yourselves.
- Upheld
- The panel found the business at fault and told it what it must do to put things right.
- Partly upheld
- The panel found the business partly at fault. It must do some, not all, of what you asked.
- Not upheld
- The panel found the business wasn’t at fault. You’re still free to go to court or a consumer authority.
Keeping it fair
- Both sides see each other’s messages, except those sent privately to WBWO.
- The business sees your name and complaint, never your email address or phone number.
- Every decision is explained in writing, in the case.
- Either side can ask for a review within 7 days of a decision, if there’s important new evidence.
- WBWO staff who mediate a case don’t sit on the panel for it.
Disputes between businesses
If you’re a WBWO member in a dispute with another member, use our dispute mediation service instead. Questions about a case: mediation@wbwo.org.