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How do complainants experience the ombuds procedure? Detecting cultural patterns of disputing behaviour: a comparative analysis of users that complain about financial services

Creutzfeldt, Naomi and Bradford, Ben (2018) How do complainants experience the ombuds procedure? Detecting cultural patterns of disputing behaviour: a comparative analysis of users that complain about financial services. In: Hertogh, M. and Kirkham, R., eds. Research Handbook on the Ombudsman. Research Handbooks in Law and Politics . Edward Elgar, pp. 280-297. ISBN 978-1-78643-124-0. (doi:10.4337/9781786431257.00025) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:99793)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786431257.00025

Abstract

Are the systems we use for resolving disputes designed in a user-friendly manner? What motivates us to accept a decision handed down by an ombuds? There is scant empirical evidence to help understand what users of ombuds expect from them and what informs these expectations. Yet, in a recent wide-ranging study Creutzfeldt (2016) asked people who had just been through an ombuds procedure about precisely these issues. Exploring the importance of fairness perceptions for ombuds procedures, one of the findings of the project was that decision-acceptance (and trust) was linked to users being heard, having a voice, and especially their ‘first impressions’ of the ombuds. Does this finding hold true across different jurisdictions, though? By focusing on users of the German insurance ombuds (Versicherungsombudsmann) and the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS) in the UK, this chapter will explore how procedural justice matters in different ways in different legal cultures. The data reveal culturally distinct narratives about expectations towards ombuds, which we suggest is partially a result of the different legal socialization experiences of people in Germany and the UK. Having identified patterns within the private sector, lessons learned for the public sector are discussed. We conclude this chapter with some thoughts as to how this study might direct future understandings of user experience and future research.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.4337/9781786431257.00025
Subjects: K Law
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Kent Law School
Depositing User: Sian Robertson
Date Deposited: 31 Jan 2023 11:03 UTC
Last Modified: 13 Jul 2023 08:55 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/99793 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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