Supermarket regulator

captainscapegoat

Does anyone know if there is a regulator for supermarkets? Is it the Competition and Markets Authority? Is it appropriate to raise a case with such a body regarding bad customer service, once the complaint has failed to be dealt with by the supermarket?

DullGreyGuy

There is no regulator in relation to customer service in supermarkets. If you've sustained a loss then the next step would be court. 

The CMA is about ensuring there is a free and open market so there is competitive tension which naturally assists with pricing rather than allowing a monopoly to be created and then prices spike because there is only one place you can buy stuff from. 

Peter999_2

Yes, their regulator is the CMA.     They aren't interested in individual complaints though, unless it significantly affects consumers on a whole.      They wouldn't be interested in individual poor service.     If you are not happy with the supermarket then don't use it anymore - they aren't a monopoly.

What did they do wrong?,  and in what way did they not deal with the complaint?

Ergates

captainscapegoat said:

Does anyone know if there is a regulator for supermarkets? Is it the Competition and Markets Authority? Is it appropriate to raise a case with such a body regarding bad customer service, once the complaint has failed to be dealt with by the supermarket?

No.

The purpose of the Competition and Markets Authority is to ensure a free and fair marked.   For instance to prevent all the supermarkets colluding together to overcharge customers for particular products.  Or to ensure that mergers don't result in a single company with too large of a market share.

They have no interest in customer service.

Super markets are not a regulated industry, so there is no body to escalate unresolved complaints to.  Even amongst those industries that *are* regulated - they generally aren't that interested in customer service (unless it results in a financial loss to the customer).

TELLIT01

Has the complaint simply been ignored, or do you not agree with the outcome?

Cornucopia

If there were a Supermarket Regulator, would it be called "OFSHOP"?

It would definitely help to know what kind of issue the OP had/has.    For more ethical/safety concerns the local trading/consumer teams of the Council could be an appropriate point of contact.

captainscapegoat

Thanks for the answers.
My issue is that they don't have a complaint proceedure thats fit for purpose.
They have a phone line who just ignore anything you say and don't act on it. I wrote to head office instead and got a reply but they refused to answer any questions or to deal with the fact that I shouldn't have to write to a senior exec to get an actual response.
I'm not after any financial compensation. The original issue was repeated failure to deliver, but thats dealt with. I take umbrage at the only contact you can reasonablty have with a company is a phone line designed to make you go away.
But yes, I realise thats the way of the world now and they can do what they want. I have indeed gone elsewhere.

eskbanker

captainscapegoat said:

Thanks for the answers.
My issue is that they don't have a complaint proceedure thats fit for purpose.
They have a phone line who just ignore anything you say and don't act on it. I wrote to head office instead and got a reply but they refused to answer any questions or to deal with the fact that I shouldn't have to write to a senior exec to get an actual response.
I'm not after any financial compensation. The original issue was repeated failure to deliver, but thats dealt with. I take umbrage at the only contact you can reasonablty have with a company is a phone line designed to make you go away.
But yes, I realise thats the way of the world now and they can do what they want. I have indeed gone elsewhere.

Companies operating in unregulated sectors, such as retail, aren't even obliged to have any sort of complaints procedure at all!

DullGreyGuy

captainscapegoat said:

But yes, I realise thats the way of the world now and they can do what they want. I have indeed gone elsewhere.

They have always been able to do what they want, supermarkets have never been a regulated sector. 

What has changed is that consumers want cheap above all else and so companies turn the screws on their suppliers, cut staff that dont add value etc. 

There are other choices out there, we buy most our milk from a particular farm, Julia deals with repeat orders etc you can speak to her by phone or email whenever you like. Steve's normally the guy manning the shop at weekends. They offer all the basic dairy products made from either raw or pasteurised milk. 1L however costs £3.50 not the £1 that Tesco charges. There is no surprise the difference in service but its reflected in the price

Ergates

captainscapegoat said:

But yes, I realise thats the way of the world now and they can do what they want. I have indeed gone elsewhere.

It's not the way of the world *now* - it has ever been thus.

pinkshoes

captainscapegoat said:

Thanks for the answers.
My issue is that they don't have a complaint proceedure thats fit for purpose.
They have a phone line who just ignore anything you say and don't act on it. I wrote to head office instead and got a reply but they refused to answer any questions or to deal with the fact that I shouldn't have to write to a senior exec to get an actual response.
I'm not after any financial compensation. The original issue was repeated failure to deliver, but thats dealt with. I take umbrage at the only contact you can reasonablty have with a company is a phone line designed to make you go away.
But yes, I realise thats the way of the world now and they can do what they want. I have indeed gone elsewhere.

With supermarkets, it's about voting with your feet and taking your custom elsewhere.

If they repeatedly fail you then you seek your refund for the failed delivery and never use them again. 

I used to shop with ASDA but got so fed up with their mistakes and the hassle of getting refunds that I changed to a different supermarket. Both Tesco and Ocado have been excellent.