July 2010

Consumers call on the ombudsman for help

Reporting on his first year as Chief Ombudsman of Ombudsman Services - the company that runs four national ombudsman schemes - Lewis Shand Smith said 2009 saw the biggest increase in consumer complaint numbers ever experienced.

"It is likely that the economic climate played some part in the dramatic rise in complaints," said Lewis. "During times of recession, consumers become more concerned about financial security and are more likely to scrutinise bills and question the services they pay for.

"Inevitably things can go wrong and, when this happens, there is an increased expectancy that there should be an ombudsman to sort the problem out."

Ombudsman Services is responsible for Otelo (the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman), the Energy Ombudsman, Ombudsman Services: Property and the PRS for Music Ombudsman. Lewis is confident that the company is well placed to provide free, independent redress to consumers.

He continued: "An ombudsman service must strive to be better than those that are under its jurisdiction. We are putting in place every measure to ensure that the resolutions we offer are soundly based and efficiently produced, and that redress is timely and effective."

Lewis presented the 2009-2010 annual reports to an audience of senior industry figures at an event at the House of Lords. Click here to view the latest reports.

ENDS

For more information, contact the communications team on email press@ombudsman-services.org