NGRS & the UK’s Removal Industry Ombudsman Office

The UK’s Removal Industry Ombudsman Office and the National Guild of Removers and Storers (NGRS) are two different regulative bodies, although they work in conjunction to a certain extend. The overall aim of these two institutions is to settle disputes between customers and removal service providers before they reach the court.

In order for a complaint to reach and be reviewed by the Ombudsman’s office, it needs to go through a number of lower level organisations. First up, customers need to actually file a complaint with the removal service provider whom they think is at fault i.e. the removal company which is in error.

The removal company which is supposed to be at fault should review and act upon the complaint under the normal timeframe and procedure they have in place for dealing with such cases. If the removal company does not do so, or if they take too long to do so, or if their response is unsatisfactory to customer, then they can take matters up with the NGRS as long as removal service provider is a member of the NGRS (thus bounded by their code of conduct).

When customers aren’t happy with the complaint resolution reached by the removal services provider, they can resort to using the NGRS’ free conciliation service. Complaints to the NGRS are filed only in writing, and cannot be discussed over the phone. Mailing addresses and email addresses, as well as other contact details can be found on the NGRS’ official website. In no instance can complaints be filed over the phone.

In order to review and process a complaint, the NGRS will need certain bits of essential information from complainants including but not limited to:

         Complainant’s full name and current address;

         Name of the removal company, also date, time and location of the removal service from which the dispute stems;

         The actual nature or basis of the complaint;

         The possible outcome which would be considered as satisfactory by customers;

The NGRS is not able to investigate and settle all types of disputes though, but only specific cases which cover:

         Breach of contract initially signed by the two parties i.e. basically failure to provide an agreed service;

         Allegations of unprofessional or inefficient conduct on behalf of the removal services provider;

         Breach of NGRS’ official member code of conduct;

         Prolonged/substantial delays in dealing with a complaint on behalf of the removal company;

The NGRS cannot deal with disputes and complaints which are currently dealt with, or have been dealt with by Her Majesty’s Court Services, or any other regulative body. NGRS cannot deal with complaints which are to do with insurance matters including claims, settlement offers, as well as terms and requirements of insurance. Also NGRS cannot deal with any matter which is considered a criminal offence, or it has already been referred to the police.

Once received at the NGRS, customers will be informed of their complaint being reviewed. The NGRS will approach the member company with an official request for them to resolve the situation. Generally, the removal services provider has ten days to issue their response.