Helping small businesses to start, grow or transform

Disputes about being paid, trouble with a digital service provider, contract battles and franchise disagreements are the top four issues where small businesses have sought the help of the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, said two out of every five requests for help from a small business related to a payment dispute while almost one-quarter of cases involved digital platform providers.

Among the issues that required active case management some 15% related to contract disputes while 9% involved a franchise disagreement.

Since being established in 2016, the Ombudsman has helped more than 40,000 small and family businesses with no cost or low-cost solutions to disputes. Court-based remedies are rarely suitable for these kinds of disputes due to the significant costs, delays, risks and difficulties accessing affordable justice.

Small businesses who are in a dispute or need assistance can contact the Ombudsman at www.asbfeo.gov.au

“We can’t guarantee that every small business will succeed but it is our mission to provide all the help we can for those who want to start, grow or transform a business, and that no business fails because the owners didn’t know about something that might have helped,” Billson said.

“When a small business finds itself in a dispute or having trouble it has tried to but can’t resolve, we are often able to help navigate a pathway to a solution.”

Billson said contract disputes ranged from cases where a small business was unaware of auto-renewals for goods and services to terminating agreements.

“In one case a family-owned cinema in a coastal town came to us about a long-running dispute they had with a beverage supplier that had escalated to the point where they had broken fridges and could not meet the terms of their contract to sell a set quantity of drinks, which in turn was causing financial hardship” he said.

“Our case manager directly contacted the head office of the beverage company and helped not only to resolve the contract dispute but assisted both parties to improve their processes. The cinema has decided to keep that beverage supplier for a new contract supported by better mutual understanding.

“This is a great result. Most small businesses in a contract dispute do not want to end the business relationship. They want to keep doing business, but they often struggle to fix problems when they arise.

 “We can give small businesses the skills – and sometimes case management – to resolve the dispute without ending the business relationship.”

 Billson said there has also been a sharp rise in the number of disputes involving digital platform providers.

“Digital platforms have fundamentally changed the way in which small and micro businesses connect and sell to their customers yet when there is a problem — such as having your account shut down after being hacked — solving it can be a nightmare,” he said.

“Often there is no real person you can speak to, and the automated systems prevent you from being able to escalate the issue. One of the absurdities is after being locked out of your account, you need to access your account to make a complaint. It’s the ultimate run around.

“Some people have built their entire businesses on social media and digital platforms and having someone else access and control their account is devastating for their business and their reputation. They watch the financial and emotional damage occur in real time with no ability to stop it.

“Hundreds of small businesses have sought our help in dealing with their digital provider to unlock their accounts so they can get back to doing business.”

In the franchise sector, cases have involved managing disputes about the sale of a business, fees and charges associated with the franchise, helping parties to amicably terminate agreements and organising Alternative Dispute Resolution when other efforts had failed.

Read now: Small Business Ombudsman here to help