The Waterways Ombudsman has been approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute as a Consumer ADR body under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of the annual approval process the Waterways Ombudsman scheme is required to publish an annual activity report within one month of the date of the anniversary of the approval, relating to the activities within the year for which the approval relates. Approval was granted on 20 August 2015, and the figures below are for the period from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. During this year there have been no cross-border disputes (that is, disputes raised by a person in an EU country other than the UK).
| Number of domestic and cross-border disputes received in the past year (1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016). The Waterways Ombudsman Scheme is a small specialist scheme and deals only with small numbers of complaints/disputes, which are not categorised. | 31 |
| Frequently occurring systematic or significant problems. | None |
| Total number of disputes which the Waterways Ombudsman has refused to deal with. | 20 |
| Percentage of complaints refused because the complainant had not completed the final stage of the Canal & River Trust internal complaints process. | 95% |
| Percentage of complaints refused because the complainant did not bring the complaint to the Ombudsman within 12 months, and where there was no reasonable cause for the delay. | 5% |
| Percentage of complaints discontinued for operational reasons. |
0% |
| Average time taken to resolve disputes. | 73 days |
| Rate of compliance of the Canal & River Trust with any outcomes. | 100% |
| Co-operation with ADR network to facilitate cross-border disputes. | N/A |
NOTE: The average time to resolve complaints is based on the time to issuing the final report, starting with the date that I receive sufficient information from the complainant to decide to open an investigation. I generally need further information before I can carry out the investigation, which is almost always from the complainant. The average time to resolve disputes, from the date of receiving that information, is 53 days. In most cases, because of the complexity, I need to seek or request further information, or make a site visit, during the investigation.