Since the creation of his post in 1999, the ENGIE Group’s Ombudsman has sought to communicate about his activity by publishing a milestone report. This is one of the guarantees of the accountability of his activities, one of the values of the ENGIE Group’s Mediation service.
Furthermore, in accordance with the Consumer Code, the report includes the following elements:
- a) The number of disputes referred for mediation and the reason for the dispute,
- b) The questions most frequently asked in the disputes submitted to him and his recommendations on how to avoid them,
- c) The proportion of disputes refused for mediation and an assessment (expressed as a percentage) of the different reasons for refusal,
- d) The percentage of interrupted mediation processes and the main reasons for such interruption,
- e) The average time required to resolve disputes,
- f) If known, the percentage of completed mediation cases,
- g) The existence of cooperation within networks of cross-border
dispute ombudsmen, - h) For ombudsmen paid or employed exclusively by a professional, the percentage of solutions proposed in favour of the consumer or business, and the percentage of disputes resolved with an amicable solution.
The annual milestone report is an effective way of continually improving the processes of companies for which the Ombudsman intervenes: on the basis of the disputes he has handled in the year, the Ombudsman makes recommendations on how the companies concerned can improve their processes and thereby avoid similar disputes recurring.
It is one of the strengths of consumption mediation that other “conventional” ombudsmen do not have.