BRC opposed to supermarket ombudsman

Date: 18th January 2010

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has voiced its concern over the forthcoming introduction of an ombudsman service for supermarkets.

Richard Dodd, the organisation's head of media campaigns, said the move will only serve to inflate prices for consumers.

Mr Dodd's comments follow an announcement from consumer minister Kevin Brannan which said that a new service to resolve disputes between supermarkets and suppliers will commence on February 4th.

The Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) was created following the advice of statements from the Competition Committee.

"There is no question that when you intervene in the market, the inevitable outcome is higher prices," said Mr Dodd.

"That is not in customers' interests [and] we are opposed to this move entirely."

He explained that this will be the first case of an ombudsman being introduced to the industry and will work against customers' interests.

"All it will do is help major multinational food suppliers by skewing the balance of power in the negotiations between supermarkets in their favour," he added.