1. Trust in ADR: what do people expect?
Dr Naomi Creutzfeldt ESRC Research Fellow /Lecturer in Law, University of Westminster Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford (Associate)

2. outline my ombudsman research project
peoples expectations of ombudsmen /ADR
a cultural element to trust?
justice systems
conclusions

3. background ADR in the EU
Consumer complaints about goods and service
Courts are overrun and take too long, unpredictable in cost and outcome
Access to justice
Consumer ADR directive (2013/11/EU)
ODR regulation (524/2013)
What kind of justice does ADR provide?

4. Research questions
1. What explains users' perceptions of fairness and trust vis-a-vis ombudsmen institutions? 2. How do cultural frameworks influence citizens use of ombudsmen?

5. Impact and legitimacy of ombudsmen in Europe
peoples perceptions of fairness & trust in informal justice
14 private and public sector ADR bodies
Germany, UK and France

6. PARTICIPATING OMBUDSMEN

7. methodology
Consumer satisfaction survey sent out by ombudsmen to their customers
by post
by - online link
September 2014 – March/May 2015
UK sample 1,025
German sample 1,442
France sample 413

8. A few survey questions
Could you briefly state, in your own words, what the problem was you contacted the Ombuds service about?
What did you expect the ombuds to do for you?
I feel that I have spent much time and effort on trying to sort out the problem before approaching the ombudsman.

9. A few survey questions
What was your impression of the staff when you first contacted the ombuds?
Helpful
Understood my problem
Seemed to know what they were talking about
Treated me with respect and courtesy
Seemed trustworthy / seemed to act with good intent
Seemed interested in hearing my story
Seemed unbiased and neutral
Were unhelpful
Not sure, can’t remember

10. A few survey questions
I feel a moral obligation to follow the ombuds recommendation
I have confidence in the ombuds
The ombuds acting according to the law
Likert scale response (5 point scale)

11. Results Public sector ombudsman – seeking accountability
‘… address the issues; make them accountable for their mistakes so that the same problems didn't arise again; […] insist that questions were answered and not just ignored.’
‘… ask for support to ensure that the highlighted problems are corrected to safeguard others.’
…conduct a thorough investigation into my concerns so that lessons could be learned.’

12. Results Private sector ombudsman – seeking individual redress
‘…force [company] to make the payments owed promptly, with a small compensation amount’
‘…act on my [the consumer's] behalf , hopefully with some 'teeth' or power behind them, to force the [company] to finally do what ANY self-respecting company trading within the UK should do, i.e. Treat its customers with SOME level of service & respect.’

13. FOUR NORMATIVE ROLES … to help me understand what it’s all about.
INTERPRETER
... to hand over my problem.
ADVOCATE
… to share the responsibility.
ALLY
… they have the right tools to help me.
INSTRUMENT

14. projects comparative findings
Expectations of public and consumer ombudsmen are very similar!
The data shows that citizens’ expectations of the ombudsmen go beyond their responsibilities.
Expectations change, narratives change throughout the complaint journey.
It’s about managing expectations from the outset.
Overarching approach of best practice for establishing trustworthy behavior.

15. Common stages in the complaint process
First contact
The procedure
The outcome
The overall satisfaction

16. Results from the UK sample
First contact:
Users have too high expectations from the outset
It is very important how ombudsmen staff treat people at initial contact

17. Results from the UK sample
The procedure:
Respondents in public schemes were far less likely than those in private schemes to be satisfied with how their cases were dealt with, almost 60% very dissatisfied.
The majority or respondents were happy with the method of communication they used to contact the ombudsman 80% very happy.

18. Results from the UK sample
The outcome:
Stark differences between public and private schemes, with respondents reporting a favourable outcome for only 11% of public cases, compared to 53% of private cases.
Having obtained an outcome, the majority of respondents (over 60%) were either ‘very willing’ or ‘fairly willing’ to accept it. However, contrasting public and private schemes highlighted huge differences; those with public cases are far less likely than those with private cases to accept the outcome.
The majority of respondents felt the ombudsman was acting according to the law. Users of private ombudsmen reported greater levels than those of public ombudsmen.

19. Results from the UK sample
Overall satisfaction:
The majority felt that the procedure was either ‘somewhat fair’ or ‘very fair’ (60.4% overall). Conversely, around a quarter felt the procedure was ‘somewhat unfair’ or ‘very unfair’.
Contrasting public and private schemes once again showed very significant differences in responses and far more negative responses from those in public schemes compared to private schemes.
Overall 57% of those in public schemes felt the procedure was ‘somewhat unfair’ or ‘very unfair’. This compared to a quarter of those in private schemes.

20. This section will focus on the private sector ombuds
Some examples from the data
Case study energy sector

21. Some examples from the sample of a consumer's complaints journey
Get justice and an apology for me
I expected the xxx to fully investigate the situation and help us rectify the problem.
I hoped that they would have enough power to be able to make the bank review its customer service.
I hoped they could get both companies to actually listen and properly investigate what was causing the delays so someone could take responsibility and finally sort it out, rather than just expecting me to pay money that I didn't actually owe at all. Neither company would listen to me and just kept telling me it was the other company's fault.

22. Some examples from the sample
I do not see myself as a negotiator and have little experience of the financial world. I see the xxx as an independent body who I trusted to act on my behalf.
To contact xx about their terrible service, demand the situation be rectified and my money given back to me.
I have been on hold with xxx for 40 minutes on many occasions and in the end I realised that I haven't got time for it to go any longer. All I was hoping for the Ombudsman to do was to tell them to close my account - SP has ignored all of my s and messages on Facebook so I had no other means of contacting them. SP owed me £270.

23. A case study of the energy sector in three countries

24. energy ombudsmen in my study
Sample size: 242
Sample size: 322
Sample size: 421

25. I feel that I have spent much time and effort on trying to sort out the problem before approaching the ombudsman.
90,5% (OS:E - UK)
87,6% (SchliE - Germany)
96,8 % (MedE - France)

26. Findings in the energy sector - 1
Do people use the ombudsman more than once?
First time dealing with an ombudsman:
Yes No
Germany
288 34
France
203 23 UK
341 80

27. Findings in the energy sector - 2
How do consumers first contact ombudsmen?

28. Findings in the energy sector - 3
How do people communicate during the procedure?

29. Findings in the energy sector - 4
Duration of a case
How long did you expect the procedure to take
How long did it actually take UK
1-3 months
279 people (67,6% of the UK sample)
201 people (49,8% of the UK sample)
France
127 people (59,3% of the French sample)
105 people (49,5% of the French sample)
More than 3 months
100 people (47,2% of the French sample)
Germany
194 people (61,2% of the German sample)
Less than 1 month
168 people (52,5% of the German sample)

30. Findings in the energy sector - 5
Confidence in the ombudsman?
Does the ombudsman act according to the law?
How fair are the procedures?
Was the outcome in your favour?
Germany 78,3%
France 71,3%
UK 69,5%
Germany 83,4%
France 84,9%
UK 81%
Germany 81%
France 90,7%
UK 68,4%
Germany 67,4%
France 50,9%
UK 75,1 %

31. perceived trust and fairness in an ombudsman
Procedural justice ‘what motivates people to obey the law? (Tyler 2006)
opportunity to express oneself ‘voice’
receiving trustworthy consideration ‘being heard’
open minded neutral forum
being treated in a respectful manner

32. Other factors to consider…
difference in ombudsmen
initial motivation and reason for contact
impact on personal life
duration
type of contact with ombudsman staff
type of complaint

33. Some demographics A typical respondent to my survey Male Educated
(1,114 UK respondents):
Male
Educated
Middle-class
White

34. value of the ombudsman model
provide a service to consumers, business, regulators
provide fast and efficient solutions to changing consumer problems
flexible in their procedural approach
expectations management is key to consumer satisfaction (predictable outcomes)
standardized training

35. designing a DR system
What form of justice is ADR providing and what do consumers expect?
meet consumers needs and expectations
provide just outcomes
put consumers at the center
create a trustworthy system

36. conclusions It will be a challenge to avoid consumer confusion.
benchmark consumer expectations:
amend ombudsman procedures to focus more on expectations management from the first contact: consumer at the center
keep consumers informed regularly
outcome is more likely to be accepted

37. Thank you.
middle-man-impact-and-legitimacy- ombudsmen-europe