ADR has become increasingly popular as an alternative to court proceedings which are traditionally perceived to be slow and expensive. On-line ADR overcomes the geographical issues that can make court proceedings unsuitable for certain cross-border disputes.
“This is a crucial time for e-commerce,” said Colin Rule, CEO of the company behind the internet-based service. “Consumers and businesses are increasingly reluctant to engage in transactions on-line because there's no way to work out any problems that arise. On-line dispute resolution is essential to build trust in on-line marketplaces.”
Any party to a dispute can contact the web site and explain its position in confidence and state its preference among the choices of mediation, arbitration, evaluation or negotiation.
OnlineResolution.com then contacts the other party to see if it is willing to use the site's services and if it shares the first party's preferred means of resolution. For a fee, OnlineResolution will then work with both parties with the aim of resolving the dispute. If agreement is reached, the details are set out in a document which the parties can then choose to make legally binding if they wish.