Mr Appleyard, we have already answered most of these queries elsewhere on this blog, but I will attempt to do so again.
Not only is DCGOS’s mediation, arbitration and adjudication process free to installer members and homeowners, the Ombudsman’s awards are in fact legally binding and are recognised by the courts.
The key points here are:
1) Consumers can request investigation completely free of charge and installers must enter this process and be bound by its decisions. They are contracted to do this at the point of entry into the scheme. They cannot refuse and opt-out if they don’t like the potential consequences.
2) The costs of all of above and any inspections are covered by DGCOS
3) The Awards are legally binding on both parties (under The Arbitration Act 1996)
4) Any awards not complied with are covered by the members pooled Compensation Fund. This ensures any awards will be paid. Normal awards of the courts or arbitration awards do not have this protection in place.
Dr Barham has dealt with hundreds of cases of mediation involving inspections and in his capacity as QA Ombudsman. He has also dealt with and made over 200 legally binding Arbitration Awards in the construction industry in this same capacity. All are binding on both the complainant and respondent.
The Ombudsman is supported by independent inspectors who are highly qualified and who have direct experience of the window industry. You can request a copy CV of the senior inspector from: tony@dgcos.org.uk.
The Ombudsman himself, Dr Ronald Barham, is, like yourself, a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators but in addition is a qualified lawyer and was formerly in practice as a chartered surveyor and consulting engineer and has been a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and of the Rating & Valuation Association; the Chartered Institute of Building; The Architects & Surveyors Institute and the Construction Surveyors Institute as well as a Member of the International Real Estate Federation and the Society of Engineers. He is registered as a Professional Engineer (UK).
He is also a member of the arbitration panels of several professional and government bodies.
I am not sure what further qualifications you think would be required but if you require a copy of his full CV please do get in contact on: tony@dgcos.org.uk
Ombudsman Schemes:
There are a number of Ombudsman Schemes in the UK. Some Ombudsmen are Government appointed, for example, The Financial Services Ombudsman, The Heath Service Ombudsman, The Police Ombudsman, whereas others are optional schemes where interested parties group together and set their own scheme up to protect consumers eg, The Surveyor Ombudsman, The Estate Agent Ombudsman, The Telecommunication Ombudsman etc. The Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) is a similar optional scheme protecting consumers who buy from its members.
The points of this scheme Mr Appleyard, are:
1) to give consumers confidence that they are using good, honest, professional installers in the first place (see www.dgcos.org.uk –accreditation)
2) if any disputes do occur they will be dealt with swiftly and robustly with no additional cost to either the consumer or installer for mediation, adjudication, inspections or arbitration (see www.dgcos.org.uk – Ombudsman)
3) These decisions are legally binding on both parties and are backed up with a Compensation Fund if either party is non-compliant (see www.dgcos.org.uk – Consumers- Compensation Fund)
4) the customer is fully covered should any member installer go out of business. Every customer using a DGCOS member has a robust underwritten guarantee in place (not just the ‘offer’ of one) [see www.dgcos.org.uk – Consumers- Deposit Protection / Insurance Backed Guarantee]
5) members of the scheme benefit from addition consumer confidence, point of sale material, the endorsement of Nick Ross, enquiries from consumers wanting to use DGCOS members (see: www.dgcos.org.uk –Installers)
I’m sure you’d agree Mr Appleyard that the current trade bodies cannot offer all these things to both consumers and installers and that if this level of protection, accreditation and investigation had been around for the last 20 years consumers would have a much better impression of the industry.
If you would like to find out the real information about DGCOS may I suggest you visit www.dgcos.org.uk or apply for a ticket to our first national conference at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 11th Nov 2011.
