Complaints Mediation

Resolve complaints informally

Most complaints can be resolved at an early stage, with both sides simply talking things through.

But when this isn’t enough and communication starts to break down, things can soon spiral downwards, and a dispute begins. This is when it can really help to call in an impartial third person who can help to facilitate a positive conversation, like one of our expert complaints mediators.

Complaints mediation is used to address:

Faulty, poor quality, or mis-sold goods
Services not meeting expectations or deadlines
Poor customer service
Breakdowns in customer-supplier communication

And benefits include:

Customers can be retained and trust in the supplier is restored
Distraction, expenses, and delays of formal action are avoided
The business conforms to legislation and good practice

How does it work?

1. Referring a case

A completed referral form, providing us with details of the dispute and of the parties, and a signed booking form all are that is needed to book in the case.

2. Before the mediation

The case manager will liaise with the referrer to organise the logistics, including timings, contact information, and online links (if required).

3. Individual meetings

The mediator will meet with each party individually to discuss the dispute to date. These private sessions will last for approximately 1½ hours each.

4. Joint meeting

Getting parties together for half a day allows for a comprehensive airing of views, as well as a discussion with a view to building an agreement.

5. The agreement

The agreement is a joint plan of action decided upon by the participants. The mediator can write it up as a good faith agreement to give to both parties.

6. Feeding back

If there is a third-party referrer, UK Mediation will provide them with a Mediation Summary on the next working day (subject to parties’ consent).

7. Follow-up

The case manager will follow up the situation after an agreed period by contacting the parties confidentially to see if the agreement is working.

Complaints mediation FAQs

We understand that you may have some queries about how complaints mediation works.

We’ve answered some of the most Frequently Asked Questions below.

Does mediation for complaints work?

Yes - we have been mediating complaints for over 23 years now, and have mediated cases involving private businesses, local authorities, education providers, and NHS Trusts.

The vast majority of cases end with some sort of future-focused agreement being written up, and parties are often grateful for the opportunity to resolve the complaint within their own power.

How is complaints mediation delivered?

Complaints mediation can be delivered face-to-face or online, but is typically delivered over the phone in two-hour sessions. Here, our expert mediator shuttles between phone calls, passing across offers, options, messages, and requests.

Please get in touch for more information.

Is complaints mediation confidential?

Yes, we ask parties to sign a Liability and Confidentiality Agreement on the day of the complaints mediation, to make sure that whatever is said goes no further.

In addition, all notes related to the case are disposed of upon completion.

Is complaints mediation voluntary?

Yes, people cannot be made to take part in complaints mediation.

If parties are coerced or forced to take part on the day, we find that this often hinders the result of the mediation and makes it less likely to arrive at a successful conclusion.

What we will say, however, is that complaints mediation is strongly recommended if things progress towards court.

Can a solicitor attend the complaints mediation?

It is strongly advised that parties attend on their own to promote honest and open communication.

Our relational model of mediation...

Here at UK Mediation, we treat conflict as a failure of dialogue and as a breakdown in a relationship.

Our relational model, re:talk, aims to restore dialogue, repair relationships, and rebuild teams, while re:connect allows us to achieve the same objectives through online mediation.

What our clients say

"This has saved us a lot of bother - and that's an understatement! A big thanks to the mediator."

Recent participant in a complaints case

"A really worthwhile process."

Recent participant in a complaints case

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Want to find out more or get a quote from us?

We're a friendly bunch at UK Mediation and we're always happy to talk about our mediation services.

Please get in touch!

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Want to find out more?

This free webinar, presented by our Founder Dr Mike Talbot, explores how mediation can be used and why it works so well for resolving customer complaints.

Watch the webinar