![[Arrow]](/assets/1/arrow_right.gif){kind=icon}
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
|
Working in the last two years under the terms of a tough Complainants' Charter, the Commission has continued to provide a first class service to members of the public who come to us for assistance.
At its heart, the Press Complaints Commission
provides a quick, cheap and effective method of redress
for ordinary people with a complaint about a newspaper
or magazine.
Working
in the last two years under the terms of a tough Complainants'
Charter, the Commission has continued to provide a first
class service to members of the public who come to us
for assistance.
Free
to all
Beyond the price of a stamp to send us a letter of complaint,
the PCC is absolutely free to those who use it. There
is no need for anyone to employ solicitors to make a
complaint - unlike in any legal or statutory system,
where people's ability to complain would depend on the
depth of their pocket.
The
service is provided free because of the financial generosity
of the newspaper and magazine publishing industry in
funding the PCC. This in turn demonstrates the industry's
substantial commitment to high ethical standards and
effective self regulation.
Quick
to use
Speed is one of the hallmarks of self regulation. When
people are in dispute with a newspaper, they want the
problem sorted out quickly - and that is what the PCC
aims to do.
In 1998, 72% of complaints were completed within 43 working days and 85% within 64 working days. This is a 20% improvement on 1997 - and makes the PCC one of the quickest regulatory systems in the country. By the end of the year, there were just seven complaints which were outstanding for more than 64 working days - compared with fifty two such outstanding complaints at the end of 1997. Complaints made to the PCC through a representative - for instance, a solicitor or other advocate - took on average nearly thirty days longer to complete than complaints brought direct by a complainant.
All
this also differentiates effective self regulation through
the PCC from any form of legal redress. An action for
libel, or under a privacy law, would take years to complete
- not weeks.
Accessible
to everyone
As well as being free and quick, it is essential to
the effectiveness of the PCC that its service is accessible
to all. In order to ensure this we:
Altogether, the Commission's staff dealt with 4,781 calls from members of the public and 383 inquiries from parts of the media. The Commission's literature - a leaflet on How to Complain, a Complainants' Charter setting out standards of service, and the industry's Code of Practice - is made widely available. Copies of all our leaflets are sent regularly to libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux, local authorities, hospitals, schools and many other organisations.
Basic
information and contact details about the PCC are also
regularly included in newspapers and magazines in space
generously donated by publishers themselves. The Commission
is most grateful to them for that.
Resolving
disputes amicably
The main task of the PCC in every complaint it receives
is to see whether it can be amicably conciliated - and
a resolution agreed between the newspaper and the person
complaining.
The Commission continues to be extremely effective in this task. In 1998, 87% of all complaints raising a prima facie breach of the Code were resolved or not pursued after action by the newspaper. It would be impossible to achieve this level of resolved disputes in a legal or statutory system - which again demonstrates how self regulation, with its emphasis on informal arbitration without cost, works in favour of ordinary people. |
|||||||||||
| [Prev] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [Next] | |
 |
 |
|
|
||
|
|||
