Resolution statistics

QA Scheme Support Services (QASSS) has revealed its latest dispute resolution statistics, giving additional insight into the different types of complaints that its home improvement consumer protection schemes DGCOS, HIES and HICS received over the last year.

Its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service resolves complaints between customers and tradespeople, preventing the need to go to court if a dispute arises.

Within the last year, the Citizens Advice Bureau consumer advice trends report revealed that the home maintenance and improvements sector received 46,579 complaints. This is the second highest sector to receive complaints behind used vehicles.

QASSS’s Alternative Dispute Resolution department received more than 1,000 home improvement consumer complaints. The top five categories of complaint across all consumer protection schemes during this year were: products (24%); customer service (23%); workmanship (23%); mis-selling (7%); and performance/estimates (5%).

The key takeaway from the data, QASSS said, is that customer service, mis-selling and performance/estimates together total 35% of all complaints, which is where an independent mediator can support the resolution.

Often, these types of complaints can be emotional, and having an independent third party look at the facts can help to move the complaint to an appropriate resolution for all parties.

Windows and doors accounted for 28% of the complaints, second only to solar products (30%).

QASSS has an average dispute resolution times of just 3.59 days, with 98.4% of complaints resolved without the need for referral to the ombudsman.