FAQs

Ombudsman Services were a not-for-profit organisation established in 2002. They provided independent dispute resolution across the Energy, Communications and Private Parking sectors in the UK. In 2022, they branched into The Energy Ombudsman, The Communications Ombudsman and POPLA, as part of the Trust Alliance Group. Press Release

The Consumer Ombudsman was a branch of the services provided by Ombudsman Services.

We are funded by fees and subscriptions from the suppliers that use our scheme. They pay us a fee for each case we review, regardless of the outcome or decision we make. This encourages suppliers to resolve more complaints in-house and improve their customer service.

Authorities in each sector we work in, ensure our compliance with regulations. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) approve us to handle disputes regarding Domestic and General disputes. The British Parking Association (BPA) approve us to investigate appeals on private parking charge notices. 

An ombudsman is someone who investigates and aims to resolve disputes between customers and businesses. They typically work with these businesses to help improve the way their services are delivered, and future complaints are handled - to improve long term customer service.

We encourage both parties in a dispute to provide as much supporting information as possible, as this helps us to reach a fair and impartial decision. We cannot assist either side in putting together cases or appeals.

For Domestic and General, we review and resolve disputes about appliance service and maintenance plans. For more information visit the Who we can help page.

Our dispute services are free to consumers.

If Domestic and General can’t resolve your complaint directly, they may send you a letter or an email to explain. This is called a ‘deadlock letter’. It will provide our contact details and suggest that you contact us. Please make sure that you register your case with us within 12 months of receiving it.

If we decide that Domestic and General have made a mistake, or treated you unfairly, we’ll recommend they take action to put things right. This could include any of the following individually or combined:

• A practical action (for example: apply a credit or replace the appliance)
• An apology
• A financial award to acknowledge the difficulties encountered.

We might also make recommendations to them to prevent the issue happening again. Find out more about dispute outcomes.

Both you and Domestic and General will have 14 days to either accept or challenge our conclusion, which will be provided using your preferred contact method. If you accept our decision and resolution, you are doing so in full and final settlement of the dispute. If both parties accept, the decision will become binding and Domestic and General will have up to 28 days to implement any proposed resolution.

Both you and Domestic and General will have 14 days to either accept or challenge our conclusion, which will be provided using your preferred contact method. You will also have the opportunity to decline our conclusion, this would close your case and no further action would be required by Domestic and General. If you reject our final decision, you may choose to resolve your complaint in another way, such as through the civil courts. Using our service doesn’t stop you from seeking redress through the courts. Our outcome may be different from the outcome of a court. If you do not accept our conclusion or final decision outcome, Domestic and General are not obliged to implement any proposed resolution.

Both you and Domestic and General will have 14 days to either accept or challenge our conclusion, which will be provided using your preferred contact method. Either party can challenge our conclusion where a material difference is made by new information that wasn’t available when we considered your case, or where a significant error in the facts has been made. If you or Domestic and General wish to challenge our conclusion, you must be able to:

• show that we’ve made a significant error with the facts that makes a material difference to the outcome; or
• provide new information that wasn’t available when we considered your case that makes a material difference.

Both parties have 14 days to either accept or challenge our conclusion. You will also have the opportunity to decline our conclusion, this would close your case and no further action would be required by Domestic and General.

Either party can challenge our conclusion where a material difference is made by new information that wasn’t available when we considered your case, or where a significant error in the facts has been made.

If you reject our final decision, you may choose to resolve your complaint in another way, such as through the civil courts.

Using our service doesn’t stop you from seeking redress through the courts. Our outcome may be different from the outcome of a court. However, if you accept our decision and resolution, you are doing so in full and final settlement of the dispute

For Domestic and General, email us at enquiry@flexibleresolutionservices.co.uk to provide us with additional evidence on your dispute.

We support the suppliers that subscribe to our service to improve the way their services are delivered, and their complaints are handled.

While your appeal is with POPLA, the operator must not pursue you for payment. If the operator requests payment from you while your appeal is with POPLA, please notify the British Parking Association who will look into it.

No, you cannot submit new evidence or new grounds of appeal after you have submitted your appeal. It is essential you submit everything with your appeal that you want us to consider.

Assessors will make decisions based on:

• Relevant law
• The British Parking Association's code of practice
• Evidence provided by both parties

Assessors have been trained on these areas and our decision-making guidelines. They have also passed an accreditation process following our training programme and receive regular internal quality audits as well as coaching and personal development.

The appeal process typically takes between 6 to 8 weeks.

POPLA have outlined their simple 5-step appeals process here.

No, you must submit each appeal separately. If you submit multiple appeals in a single appeal it will be withdrawn.

POPLA's role is to consider whether a parking charge notice has been issued correctly, taking into account relevant law, codes of practice, and the evidence provided by the parties.

They offer a single-stage appeals process. This means each party gets one opportunity to submit their case and evidence and we will make a decision based on that information alone. This will be a final decision. Other than motorists having an opportunity to comment on the operator's evidence pack, there is no opportunity to provide further information or appeal our decision.

POPLA is funded by the British Parking Association (BPA). We charge the BPA for each case that we decide and they pass the costs on to the industry. POPLA charge the same fee regardless of the outcome of the case. Neither the British Parking Association or any operator has any control over decision-making and, therefore, POPLA is impartial and independent of the sector.

Please ensure you have read POPLA's guide to making an appeal so you know what you need to complete the process, then visit this page to Start an Appeal.

POPLA is a free service to motorists and you do not have to pay to appeal with us. If your appeal is successful, you do not need to pay the parking charge notice. However, if you appeal is unsuccessful, the parking operator will expect you to make payment. If you delay payment beyond 28 days, the operator may add additional charges or refer your case to debt collection.

For POPLA, if you are having any difficulty uploading your evidence, please contact us within 24 hours of submitting your appeal and we can attach it for you.

• Keying errors
• Cloned plates
• Inadequate signage
• Vehicle sold prior to event
• Payment machine not working

Visit the POPLA website to read Case Studies on each of these scenarios.

Our dispute services are free to consumers.

We can accept the following file types:

pdf, csv, txt, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, png, gif, jpg, bmp, mov, mp4, mp3, m4a, tif, tiff

You can email us at enquiry@flexibleresolutionservices.co.uk or call us on 0330 440 1624 to let us know of any technical difficulties you're experiencing.

We are committed to making our services accessible to everyone. We have a variety of options available, including documents in alternative formats such as large print, coloured paper, audio and Braille. We also facilitate sign language interpretation. Read more about Accessibility.

If you’d like to complain on behalf of someone else, this option is available by continuing through our online complaints process as expected.