S.L. 545.30 Art. 4Disputes involving consumers and authorised providers. Cap. 586.

(1) Where a dispute, however so described, arises between an authorised provider and a consumer, further to which a consumer makes a complaint by alleging an infringement of the Act or subsidiary legislation made thereunder, by an authorised provider, any party to such a dispute may refer the dispute to the Regulator: Provided that, when referring a dispute under this regulation, the consumer must prima facie show that he has been affected by the act or omission of the authorised provider giving rise to the dispute.

(2) Upon receipt of any reference as aforesaid, or upon otherwise becoming aware of any such dispute that the Regulator believes should be investigated, the Regulator shall notify all the parties to the dispute that the matter is being investigated. In doing so the Regulator shall regulate its own procedure, which procedure shall, as far as is reasonably possible, be transparent, simple, inexpensive and conducive to a prompt and fair settlement of the dispute, and shall afford all parties to the dispute reasonable opportunity to make their submissions and to produce any relevant information: Provided that the Regulator may decide not to initiate an investigation in accordance with this regulation where it is satisfied that other means of resolving the dispute in a timely manner are available to the parties or if legal proceedings in relation to the dispute have been initiated by any party to the dispute.

(3) The Regulator, in resolving any disputes referred to it under this regulation, may issue directives to the authorised provider concerned requiring that authorised provider to comply with any measure the Regulator may specify for the resolution of the dispute. Such directives may, having regard to its determination of the dispute and to all other relevant matters, include an order to effect the reimbursement of payments received or to make compensation payments. Such payments may also include the whole or part of the costs of any party relating to the engagement of a lawyer and, or of a technical adviser in relation to any submissions relating to the dispute: Provided that, in the absence of such a directive by the Regulator, the consumer to a dispute shall have the right to request the Regulator that the whole or part of the costs relating to the engagement of a lawyer and, or of a technical adviser in relation to any submissions relating to the dispute be paid to the consumer concerned by any other party to the dispute.

(4) A party to which a measure under this regulation applies shall, saving any suspension of the decision pending the final determination of the appeal by the Tribunal, forthwith comply with that measure. If the party concerned fails to do so, it shall be deemed to have committed an infringement of this regulation and the Regulator may impose an administrative fine of not more than six hundred euro (€600) for each day of non-compliance in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The period of non-compliance shall be deemed to have commenced from the date of notification of the measure of the Regulator or from any such other date as may be communicated in the measure which date shall in any case be on or subsequent to the date of notification.

(5) The Regulator shall make publicly available any administrative procedures it may from time to time establish in relation to the handling of any disputes referred to it under this regulation.

(6) The provisions of this regulation shall be without prejudice to the right of a consumer to have recourse to any other body in resolving any such disputes.

(7) In issuing a decision under this regulation the Regulator shall state the reasons on which it is based, and shall, subject to such requirements of commercial confidentiality as it may deem appropriate, notify the parties to the dispute with a copy of the decision.

(8) The Regulator shall publish notice of a decision given under this regulation and shall state where copies of, or information regarding, the decision may be obtained.

(9) The Regulator shall conclude dispute resolution proceedings under this regulation expeditiously within a time-frame of ninety calendar days starting on the date on which the Regulator has received the complete complaint file including all relevant documentation pertaining to that complaint, and ending on the date on which the outcome of the dispute resolution proceeding is made available. The Regulator shall notify the parties after receiving all the documents necessary to carry out the dispute resolution proceeding. In certain exceptional cases of a highly complex nature, including where one of the parties is unable, on justified grounds, to take part in the dispute resolution proceeding, the Regulator may extend the time-frame for the purpose of undertaking an examination of the case in question. The parties should be informed of any such extension, and of the expected approximate length of time that will be needed for the conclusion of the dispute.

(10) The Regulator shall:

(a) maintain an up-to-date website which provides the parties with easy access to information concerning dispute resolution proceedings, and which enables consumers to submit a complaint and the requisite supporting documents online;

(b) provide the parties, at their request, with the information referred to in paragraph (a) on a durable medium;

(c) where applicable, enable the consumer to submit a complaint offline;

(d) enable the exchange of information between the parties via electronic means or, if applicable, by post;

(e) take the necessary measures to ensure that the processing of personal data complies with the rules on the protection of personal data laid down in the Data

Protection Act.