In August 1997, legal aid was extended to cover the fee and to pay solicitors attending mediation with a legally-aided client. The pilot is likely to be extended until May 1998. The Office of Fair Trading works with industry to establish codes of practice for dealing with consumers' complaints. There are now about 25 such codes that include provision for independent arbitration. Some professional bodies and individual companies have established their own arbitration schemes.
Most schemes require the consumer to complain first to the trader concerned.
If this does not produce a satisfactory resolution, the trade association will attempt to conciliate. Finally, the consumer may decide to go to arbitration. Both sides must agree to be bound by the result. The consumer usually has to pay a fee at this point, although the bulk of the cost is met by the industry. That scheme received 15,933 complaints in the year to July 1997, of which 1,472 went on to arbitration.