Adjudications
DMC adjudications provide guidance to practitioners in the industry on how their Code is interpreted and act as a record of DMC rulings and policy.
Those cases that the Directorate consider should be ‘formally investigated’ (that is, to undergo a formal process of investigation and adjudication) are presented to the Commission for adjudication.
‘Informally resolved’ complaints are investigated and resolved to the satisfaction of the Directorate of the Commission with no further action deemed necessary.
Complaints ‘informally resolved’ by the Directorate may include
* minor customer service issues eg non-receipt of goods, unsolicited goods, faulty goods, poor quality goods, delivery or collection problems, poor advice/customer service; account errors
* consumer misinterpretation or misunderstanding of their own or the company’s obligation
* minor data issues eg unwanted emails, unwanted mail, incorrect personal details, technical problems - issues that are not regularly reported against one specific company or do not affect large numbers of consumers
It is not always clear whether or not a company has breached the Code. As an example, a consumer may not have understood or read terms and conditions correctly. If the company’ customer service team is not aware of this lack of understanding it can lead to a further breakdown of communication resulting in fault on both sides.
Complaints ‘formally investigated’ ie adjudicated by the Commission may include
* serious breaches of the Code which might result in damaging the public image of direct marketing: breaches of contractual obligations or of terms and conditions; serious breaches of legislation; mis-selling of goods; misleading marketing material
* repeated complaints against one company which indicates a particular concern eg inefficient customer service, poor data processing, silent calls, difficulty unsubscribing from emails, unwanted mail. Or the company may simply be experiencing an increasing level of complaints. Not every ‘individual complaint’ that shows evidence of a Code breach is necessarily upheld; any number of complaints can be upheld at one time.
* minor breaches of the Code which may affect large numbers of consumers eg wording used in marketing material which has been misconstrued. Even if there is only one complaint, many consumers who do not complain could be affected.
* business to business complaints which are usually of a complex nature and are generally investigated by the Directorate who might take independent expert advice before submitting to the Commission for adjudication.
* complaints from consumers who have specifically requested that their complaint is taken to the Commission for adjudication
* cases where the member or non-member company fails to respond to the Directorate
