Transcript
Complaints and conciliation video four – The conciliation process
Conciliation is a facilitated conversation between the consumer and business or landlord involved in a formal complaint made to us.
Its goal is to get people to a reasonable agreement. Something that gets you both as close as possible to what you’re looking for, within what the law allows.
Most conciliations happen by phone, but we try to communicate in a way that works for everyone.
We help you try to resolve the issue by
- listening to both sides to understand what's gone wrong and what you hope to achieve, and
- looking at the issue from all angles and encouraging you to see things from the other’s perspective.
While attempting to negotiate an agreement, we cannot
- make decisions for anyone
- direct consumers to agree to an outcome they don’t want
- order businesses or landlords to provide a specific outcome, or
- provide any form of legal advice*
- ask if anything has changed since you submitted your complaint
- ask what outcome you’re looking for, and
- share their understanding of your legal rights and responsibilities in the situation. Remember, this is not legal advice.
- ask what happened and what you feel the issues are,
- ask if you’ve made any offers to resolve the complaint, or if you have any concerns about resolving it, and
- share their understanding of your rights and what the law requires of you in the situation. Although this is not legal advice, it’s important to understand your obligations under the law. Non-compliance may be referred for investigation and could result in significant penalties.
*If you would like independent legal advice, we can give you information about the various legal services available.
The conciliation process is voluntary, so both people must agree to take part. And it relies upon you both being reasonable.
If you come into conciliation with an open mind and are willing to negotiate, it’s more likely to be successful. If you come in with a fixed mindset and refuse to negotiate, it’s going to be tough to reach an agreement.
When conciliation is ready to start, one of our conciliators will contact you by phone or email.
For consumers
When conciliation begins, the conciliator will
The conciliator will have you think about possible outcomes. What would you be willing to accept to move forward?
The conciliator will also contact the business or landlord to do the same. They will come back to you with any offers made.
For businesses and landlords
When conciliation begins, the conciliator will
From there, the conciliator will explore options with you to resolve the complaint fairly. What would you be willing to offer the consumer to move forward? The conciliator will present any offers to the consumer for consideration.
We understand that dealing with a complaint can be time consuming. And so part of our role is to help you to navigate that and ease some of the burden. For example, we could get receipts or information for you from the consumer.
Even though it’s consumers who lodge complaints with us, we’re here to support you as well.
If you reach an agreement
If you reach an agreement, we trust you both will honour it. But, because conciliation is voluntary, we cannot force either person to do so.
In the most lasting agreements, you each understand
- what the solution is and why, and
- how and when it will be provided.
We ask the consumer to let us know if they don’t receive the remedy as agreed. We will follow up with the business or landlord to find out what’s happened. We may also give the consumer information about going to court.
If you still can’t reach an agreement
If conciliation doesn’t work, the next step for consumers is the Magistrates Court. You may wish to seek independent legal advice. We can provide information about the various legal services available.
Small businesses may seek advice from the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC).
Closing
Next in our Complaints and Conciliation series, we explore why reasonableness is key to a successful outcome.
To better understand the complaint process or your rights and responsibilities as a consumer or business, visit our website at consumerprotection.wa.gov.au or give us a call on 1300 30 40 54.