Complaint Process :

If your complaint is against a business that subscribes to the Onlineombud process, the Onlineombud procedures apply. See Overview of Process.

Otherwise, your complaint will be forwarded to the party complained about/ the other party to the dispute within two business days. The other party will be asked to respond within 5 days. You will be notified of the other party’s response when we receive it (or notified that we received no response). The referral aspect of the process is a free service.

Bear in mind that all communications are conducted via email ONLY.

Overview of Process :

i) Acceptance and referral:
Onlineombud receives the complaint, ensures that it is a matter that it is appropriate for it to deal with, obtains whatever clarification is necessary and then contacts and calls upon the other party to respond to it. 

ii) Quick view:
Based on the information provided by the parties, the probabilities and any legal considerations, a suggestion is made as to how the parties ought best to resolve the complaint. The suggestion is not binding on either party unless they both accept it.

iii) Recommendation:
If a resolution is not achieved following the issuing of a Quick View, Onlineombud will gather such further information (investigate) as is necessary to assist in the resolution of the complaint. Onlineombud will then issue a recommendation determining the most appropriate resolution of the complaint. If a recommendation is made against a party that accepts Onlineombud’s procedures and it is accepted by the customer, the recommendation will be contractually binding on the subscriber.

iv) Other remedies:
Mediation and arbitration are available offline. Please contact us for details. In the event of Onlineombud not being able to resolve the dispute, Onlineombud may suggest another appropriate service provider or remedy.

Costs  (online resolution only)

The indicated prices only apply to matters dealt with on the Internet and may not be available if the particular matter is of exceptional complexity or requires obtaining the views of technical specialists.

Subscribers are contractually liable to bear the costs of Onlineombud so the service is offered free to their customers.

• Exceptional cases- additional fees will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis in respect of exceptional cases that might involve complex sets of facts, consulting with experts (e.g. handwriting), conducting tests or such other activities as are particular to the field of business or activity of the subscriber.

Lodge a complaint :

Onlineombud strongly encourages persons with complaints or disputes to first attempt to resolve them directly with the other party.

Contact www.getclosure.co.za if you require assistance in directing any complaint that you have not yet taken up with a business to that business.

If your complaint against a business remains unresolved, you may approach Onlineombud by completing a complaint form

For a business-to-business or interpersonal dispute, please contact us for details of the process and costs. email info@onlineombud.com

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