Where an agreement cannot be reached, or conflicting evidence is submitted at the conciliation process, which is the first stage of the process at the FHIO and DRO, a case will move to adjudication.
In this instance we may send an independent to look at the items or installation in question and they will make recommendations as to a suitable remedy. These detailed inspection reports provide additional evidence, which enables our Ombudsman to make a decision.
In many cases a complaint will have several elements to it, and it is not uncommon for parts of a complaint to be upheld whilst other elements are dismissed. In 2019, 2% of our cases required adjudication.
The outcome of the adjudication is binding on the company once accepted by the consumer, however, if the consumer disagrees with the decision made by the Ombudsman, they are able to take further legal action for example to the courts.
