The official news and mag complaints process has pledged improvements as a survey revealed low retailer trust and satisfaction in the system.

A newly released retailer survey completed this summer by The Press Distribution Review Panel (PDRP), which decides on retailer complaints and fiancial claims, found whilst 61.3% of retailer’s complaints were upheld with changes or restitution made as a result, a majority of retailers that used the PDRP said they felt that the process was not fair.

Of the 38.7% of retailers whose complaint had not been upheld, more than a third said they had never heard back on their complaint or that it “never went anywhere”. One respondent said that they had been asked to provide evidence which Menzies Distribution was witholding from them, and another claimed their wholesaler “lied” about their complaint, leading it to not be upheld.

All but one of the 31 respondents had made their complaint against wholesaler depots. Only one respondent whose complaint was not upheld said that the decision had been correct, although others said that they were able to resolve the problem themselves or that the Fed stepped in to push for their complaint to be processed.

A number of the survey’s respondents reported the complaints process was difficult to navigate, with 25.8% reporting that the initial application was not easy to complete and only 22.6% saying that the complaints process was not easy to follow. However, 41.9% said that their complaint was not dealt with within 28 days, and 48.4% said that they were not kept informed throughout the process.

Other responses to the survey included retailers who reported that they “had to threaten legal action” to get a result, or that they had faced long waits not just for results of their complaint but also for restitution when they were upheld. Nine retailers said that their issues were ongoing despite making a complaint, with one saying that their claim had been upheld but the wholesaler would “carry on as before.”

“It’s almost a closed shop run by the industry and protecting the industry members at the expense of the independent retailer,” said another respondent. “The onus of proof is on the retailer whereas there should be more support to retailers to tackle the lack of cooperation and provision of data from the wholesaler. It seems it’s a purely lip service process.”

When asked what they would like to see the PDRP do differently, seven retailers commented that they wanted changes to the complaints process including more updates while their complaint was under review, not having to make the same complaint multiple times or chase it up, and an easier reporting process. Others reported changes that they would want to see from legislators or their wholesalers.

When Better Retailing asked about the survey results a statement from the group announced that “The feedback has been insightful with positives and areas where the complaints process may benefit from changes.”

They added that they are looking into potential changes to the procedure which could help resolve these issues, and that they will likely be able to announce next steps following a meeting on 29 November.

The potential improvements being considered by the PDRP include:

• Increasing retailers’ awareness of how the process works and why some complaints take longer than others to be resolved
• Ensuring retailers are kept informed whilst complaints are being resolved
• Reviewing their help guidelines to make it easier for retailers to make a complaint with all the information it needs to contain
• Reviewing and identifying trends in the complaints received and placing more focus on resolving recurring issues
• Integrating systems which would automatically initiate a complaint if certain standards are not met.

The PDRP says it “will report on progress whilst repeating the survey early in 2024”.