Abstract/Summary

Throughout the 21st Century, consumers have become increasingly more demanding in terms of the service they expect to receive and, consequently, are more likely to complain if something goes awry. According to the Consumer Action Monitor report commissioned by the Ombudsman Services (2016), there were 52 million complaints made by adults aged 18+ about products and services; with around four in five consumers (82%) not being prepared to put up with poor service. They calculated that the number of active complaints made equates to approximately 1.1 per person living in Britain. However, a well-handled complaint could bring significant value to a company. In the last decade, it has also been made easier for consumers to complain through the setting up of regulators (notably for finance, utilities and telecommunications) and ombudsmen; and through the increasing use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, making it easier for people to air and share their views. There are also free online dispute resolution services, such as Resolver (see: https://www.resolver.co.uk/) – in association with MoneySavingExpert.com – that can help consumers raise and resolve issues with companies they have experienced problems with. Resolver has close to 2 million users of its service. Using their data, the following research report investigates issues raised with people using the Resolver platform in terms of the types of issue received, the most common companies cited (in Retail, Transport and Telecoms’ sectors), and the level of satisfaction and advocacy following on from a company’s handling of the issue concerned. Furthermore, we explore whether it is the duration of a case (number of days) or the number of interactions with a company (number of emails) that has the greatest influence on satisfaction and advocacy scores.