MSE News: More dispute bodies planned to take on dodgy firms

Does the EC propose how to fund such schemes?

Where such a service is not available, many are forced down the arduous and expensive court route to gain redress.

This is very misleading. The small claims process is neither.

Why can't we have just one of these bodies? I wonder how much of the admin and support services are duplicated across the separate ones we've got at the moment?

Another example of scope creep at the EU.

What's really needed is improvements to the court system and legal profession so it's easier for people to get the proper legal remedies they're entitled to (and potentially pay costs of they're wasting time). Group litigation should be better facilitated too.

Problem with ombudsmen type bodies is often they just mete out second rate justice in their own time. They are typically populated by people from the industry concerned and are biased. This endemic bias is "balanced" by a few eye-catching press releases where they've supposedly won victories for consumers. Given they are "free" - they just encourage anyone with an axe to grind to get onto them, clogging up the works for legitimate claimants. I've had dealings with two ombudsman - neither of them understood the law relevant to the issues I had. But they were very quick to offer off-the-peg non-solutions. As a lawyer, I'm worried people are sold a pup with these bodies - which in the end are quangos after all.

Hintza wrote: »

I thought we were getting rid of Quangos?

Sounds like they will be largley funded by industry a bit like the FOS and Airline thingy.