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PART IGeneral

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007;

“the Commission” means the Postal Services Commission;

“complaint” means any expression of dissatisfaction made to an organisation, related to any one or more of its products, services or the manner in which the organisation has dealt with any such expression of dissatisfaction, where a response is explicitly or implicitly required or expected to be provided;

“complainant” means a person who has made a consumer complaint;

“complaints handling procedure” means, in relation to each regulated provider, a procedure which complies with Regulation 3 and which sets out how a consumer complaint can be made to, and will be handled and progressed by, that regulated provider;

“completed complaint” means a consumer complaint in respect of which there remains no outstanding action to be taken by the regulated provider in accordance with its complaint handling procedure;

“consumer complaint” means a complaint which is made against a regulated provider either—

(a)

by a person in that person’s capacity as a relevant consumer in relation to that regulated provider; or

(b)

by a person acting on behalf of such a relevant consumer;

“consumer complaint report” means the report which is to be prepared and published in accordance with Regulation 9;

“Consumer Direct” means the telephone and online consumer advice service operated by the Office of Fair Trading;

“contract customer” means a person who is a consumer in relation to a relevant postal service where the provision of the relevant postal service is governed by a contract between that consumer and the regulated provider;

“the Council” means the National Consumer Council established by section 1 of the Act;

“Office of Fair Trading” means the body of that name which is established by section 1 of the Enterprise Act 2002(1);

“qualifying redress scheme” means a redress scheme which is approved by the Commission in accordance with section 49 of the Act or which is administered and designated in accordance with section 47(1)(b) of the Act;

“regulated provider” means a person holding a licence under Part 2 of the Postal Services Act 2000 who provides relevant postal services to a relevant consumer.

“relevant consumer” means a person who is a consumer in relation to relevant postal services, including an addressee of mail, but excluding a consumer of a relevant postal service who is a contract customer in respect of that service;

“section 12 complaint” means a consumer complaint to which section 12(3) of the Act applies;

“specified time period” means the time period specified by the regulated provider in its complaint handling procedure or as otherwise agreed with a relevant consumer, as the maximum period that the regulated provider has to complete a consumer complaint before the relevant consumer who made that consumer complaint, or on whose behalf that consumer complaint was made, becomes entitled to refer that consumer complaint to a qualifying redress scheme;

“vulnerable consumer” means a person who is vulnerable for the purpose of section 12(2) of the Act; and

“working day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(2).