Tuesday 28 June 2016

Ombudsman Customer Service Clinic


A customer service clinic is being held at the Overgate Shopping Centre on Thursday 30th June and Friday 1st July from 9am – 5pm to assist people unhappy with service they have received from a company or service.

Advisors from Ombudsman Services, the largest multi-sector ombudsman in the UK, will be on hand to hear complaints about products or services which are felt not to have been adequately handled by the company.  

Ombudsman Services are a not-for-profit organisation who operate at no cost to the public purse or to consumers, the companies who have agreed to work with us pay for our services.  We act as a mediator between consumers and companies and work with both sides to come to an amicable agreement where a problem has arisen. The decisions we make are legally binding on the company but the consumer maintains their right to take further legal action if they are not satisfied with the outcome.

People complain about a wide variety of things but, primarily, what we see is complaints about billing, people paying for a service they do not then actually receive.  The retail sector is where people experience the most problems, with 31% of all complaints being about that sector.  Energy providers and telecommunications companies, providing broadband, mobile phones contracts etc, also attract a significant number of complaints. 

We want to raise awareness of the services we provide and are holding a number of roadshows across Scotland to promote this.  By having a stand in busy shopping centres we hope to inform people about what we do as they go about their daily lives.