The commissioner of the Consumer Commission recently published a draft of the franchise industry code under Section 82 of the Consumer Protection Act for comment.
The aim of the code will be to help with the resolution of disputes, providing a cost-effective alternative to litigation.
According to the draft, the ombudsman will act as a mediator in the case of disputes. What this means is that the ombud will not have the power to enforce a ruling, but will instead provide recommendations with the ultimate aim of resolving issues as amicably as possible.
With this in mind, the code proposes that the ombud be a legally qualified person with at least 10 years’ experience in the field of conflict resolution.
Should the code be accepted, the ombudsman will be funded by levies garnered from the franchisees. The size of contributions is still to be decided.
