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ISO's latest contributions to consumer protection and business development include the establishment of two new project committees that will prepare standards on product recall and services billing respectively.
The standards they develop will help to protect consumers from unsafe products and debt related to billing. These initiatives were proposed by ISO/COPOLCO, the ISO committee on consumer policy.
Smooth recalls of damaged or unsafe products
A new ISO project committee on product recalls will help to protect consumers and users from fatalities, injuries and financial loss caused by flawed products, while assisting business to save time and money and reduce related legal risks.
Ineffective recalls have resulted in millions of people being hurt, made sick or fatally injured by unsafe products due to design flaws, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warning labels or instructions. The goal of ISO/PC 240, Product recallis to develop a market-oriented international standard to help organizations plan and execute timely and cost effective product recalls, minimizing legal risks, and contributing to customer satisfaction and loyalty.
This standard is particularly relevant in today's market context where products routinely cross borders, but uneven and inconsistent approaches in policies and procedures pose significant challenges for global recalls.
The standard will provide a code of good practice for establishing, implementing and managing an effective, flexible and responsive consumer product recall programme, with corrective actions, including repair, placement, re-purchase and public notice. It will also provide guidance on products in the manufacturer's or distributor's inventory or retail shelves, or already in the hands of consumers.
The work of PC 240 will apply to consumer products, including electrical and gas household appliances. The projected standard will be useful for manufacturers, retailers, importers, testing organizations, providers of third party recall services, legal firms, government regulators and consumers/safety organizations.
The secretariat of the project committee has been assigned to the ISO member body, DSM, Department of Standards Malaysia.
Transparent and fair billing
ISO has also established a new project committee, ISO/PC 239, Network services billing, to develop a standard which will provide a framework for transparent billing information and enquiry redress systems, as well as a customer-oriented approach to billing and the provision of retail network services. The standard will be designed for gas and electricity utilities, but also for use by other utilities (e.g. water, telecommunications).
Billing is one of the main sources of customer complaints against utilities. Research shows that in the United Kingdom alone, inaccurate and untimely billing cost customers over GBP 10 million in 2004.
Businesses also stand to lose. Results for 2004 in the United Kingdom showed that utilities were owed over GBP 1 billion by customers, which not only constitutes a financial loss, but may also indicate a loss of customer loyalty and satisfaction.
The new market-sensitive ISO standard will provide guidance on dealing with consumer concerns about billing practices. Consumers will find it easier to read and understand their bills, and verify their accuracy. It will also constitute a useful tool for preventing consumer debt.
Utilities will benefit from increased efficiency and cost savings. By producing timely coherent bills that can overcome language and cultural barriers, they will save millions on responses to customer complaints.
Overall, the standard will disseminate best practice on contemporary customer service and in reaching sound outcomes in the event of problems, thus increasing customer satisfaction and confidence among utility users.
The secretariat of the project committee has been assigned to the ISO member SII Standards Institution of Israel.
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