The upcoming EU-led changes to consumer rights law simplify the law in relation to a business’s obligations to consumers, and increase consumers’ legal rights. The UK Government has implemented the EU Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive, under The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”). For advice on how to deal with consumer disputes, consumer dispute resolution and reducing the impact of product liability issues please contact IBB's commercial dispute resolution solicitors today. http://www.ibblaw.co.uk/service/commercial-dispute-resolution Commercial dispute and product liability solicitors IBB Solicitors Capital Court 20 Windsor Street Uxbridge UB8 1AB Tel: 01895 230941

1. consumer
disputes
New obligations for business
from 1 October 2015
a briefing note from

2. the Regulations as “an individual acting for purposes which are
wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or
profession”.
What about online dispute resolution for businesses and
consumers?
The EU Online Dispute Regulation (“the ODR Regulation”) will
be directly applicable in Member States, including the UK, from
9 January 2016 (in relation to the majority of its provisions).
This provides for the European Commission to establish a
free, interactive and multi-lingual website so that consumers
throughout the EU can initiate ADR in relation to consumer
complaints for online transactions.
The ODR Regulation imposes an obligation on all businesses
selling goods or services online to provide a link to the European
Commission’s new ODR platform from 9 January 2016.
What should businesses be doing?
In order to comply with the Regulations:
All businesses should review their websites, contractual terms
and complaints handling procedures now to ensure compliance.
For businesses that are already legally obliged or have committed
to use a certified ADR entity, it is advisable for them to provide the
relevant information before 1 October 2015.
Businesses who have not already made a commitment to ADR
will need to identify one or more certified ADR providers in their
industry, and should also ensure that their complaints handling
procedure is updated by 1 October 2015 to include reference to
the ADR provider.
If businesses sell goods or services to consumers online, they
should from 9 January 2016 also take steps to provide a link on
their website to the EU ODR Platform and include reference to it
in their terms and conditions.
New obligations on businesses
to provide alternative dispute
resolution to consumers
from 1 October 2015
What is the aim of The Regulations?
The aim of the Regulations is to provide consumers a means for
redress outside of the court process, and to promote the use of
alternative dispute resolution schemes. It is hoped that the use
of such schemes will encourage parties to avoid lengthy, time
consuming and expensive litigation through the courts, which
can be daunting for consumers, and potentially damaging to a
business’s reputation.
What is changing?
The Regulations, the majority of which came into force on 9 July
2015, do not make alternative dispute resolution mandatory for
any consumer or business. However, from 1 October 2015:
1. All businesses that are legally obliged (or have committed)
to use a certified ADR entity must provide information about
that entity on their website as well as in any terms and
conditions which they provide to consumers;
2. All businesses (whether or not they are legally obliged to use
an ADR entity) must, in cases where a consumer complaint
remains unresolved (i.e. where a business has exhausted
its internal complaint handling procedure), direct the
consumer to an appropriate certified ADR provider , and
also advise whether it agrees (or is obliged) to use ADR in the
dispute. This requirement will apply to all disputes that are
unresolved after 1 October 2015, even if the contract which
gave rise to the dispute was entered into, or the complaint
arose, before that date.
Who do The Regulations apply to?
Although the Regulations do not make alternative dispute
resolution mandatory, almost all businesses in the UK selling
goods, services or digital content to consumers in the EU will
need to ensure that the comply with the requirements set out in
the Regulations.
The Regulations do not apply to business-to-business or to
consumer-to-consumer transactions. “Consumer” is defined by
The upcoming EU-led changes to consumer rights law simplify the law in
relation to a business’s obligations to consumers, and increase consumers’
legal rights. The UK Government has implemented the EU Alternative
Dispute Resolution Directive, under The Alternative Dispute Resolution
for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information)
Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”).
© IBB Solicitors 2015. Thissummaryisprovidedforgeneralinformationonly,andisnotintendedto
amounttolegaladviceonwhichyoushouldrely.Werecommendyouobtainspecialistprofessional
advicebeforetaking–orrefrainingfrom–anyactiononthebasisoftheinformationabove.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of this briefing further, please contact:
Ariane Tadayyon, Solicitor, Commercial Dispute Resolution on ariane.tadayyon@ibblaw.co.uk / 01895 207823