Does the business have to do what the Ombudsman says?

Yes. If we make an award in the consumer's favour, it is binding on the member retailer. If the award is accepted by the consumer, it becomes a Full and Final settlement. You are therefore prevented from making any further claims for compensation against the retailer in relation to this complaint. All of our members pledge to abide by our Code which sets out that they agree to be bound by our decisions. In some circumstances, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 creates a potential offence if a trader fails to honour the terms of a Code which they have undertaken to comply with. A failure to comply with our decisions could therefore lead to action by an enforcement agency such as trading standards.