If you’ve been researching our ADR process, you’ve likely come across the phrase ‘Participating Member’ dozens of times… And been left wondering:
What is a Participating Member, and why is it important?
Well, not to give you too many spoilers, but the concept of a Participating Member is actually essential to how RetailADR works – and to figuring out whether your complaint is eligible for our scheme.
Don’t worry… It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Let’s get into it!
By the way, if you have an unresolved retail complaint…
If you’ve hit a wall with a retailer, RetailADR offers a FREE, independent route to a resolution – approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute to settle disputes between consumers and Participating Member traders right across the UK.
What does ‘Participating Member’ mean?
In short, at RetailADR, a Participating Member is a trader that has agreed to engage with our scheme and follow our Scheme Rules, which includes being legally bound by our decisions.
Allowing you to escalate your complaints about them with us, for free!
This means that our Participating Member traders have agreed to become part of our scheme, as they recognise the benefits of RetailADR giving consumers access to amicable, hassle-free dispute resolution for retail complaints – out of court.
That’s also why we call them ‘Participating’ Members… They’ve agreed to partake in our process!
Why is the concept of a Participating Member important for consumers?
So, now you know what we mean when we say a trader is a Participating Member of RetailADR… But why should it matter to you, as a consumer?
Something important to note about RetailADR is that we can normally only accept complaints about traders that are Participating Members of our scheme – as these traders are the ones who have agreed to be bound by our decisions.
But don’t worry! With over 50 traders currently partaking in our scheme, we’ve likely got you covered.
Who are the Participating Members of RetailADR?
As aforementioned, RetailADR currently has over 50 Participating Members, spanning a diverse array of companies and organisations, such as:
> Aldi
> ASOS
> IKEA
> Harrods
… And more!
As much as we’d love to list them all for you here… That would take all day.
For a full comprehensive list, please see our handy Participating Member webpage, where you can search for the name of the trader you’re complaining about to see if they’re part of our scheme:
> Participating Members of RetailADR
What if the trader isn’t a Participating Member of RetailADR?
If you cannot find a trader on our published Participating Members list – don’t panic! That does not immediately mean you’ve hit a dead end.
If you can’t find the trader you’re complaining about on our list, you can still submit your complaint to us and have us check our records, or reach out to our Customer Support Team to verify whether or not we may still be able to process your complaint beforehand!
If your complaint is ineligible for RetailADR, we’ll simply point you in the right direction.
We’ll never penalise you for trying to use our services!
How do I get started?
Once you’ve double-checked whether or not the trader is a Participating Member of RetailADR, you can lodge your complaint with us for FREE in whichever way suits you – through our online portal, by post, or by phone:
> Start your complaint with RetailADR
> What to do before you come to us
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