December 2018 – SOFT SETTLE

Online Dispute Resolution, an ideal way-out in finding Consumer Dispute Resolution

SoftSettle Support

ODR or Online Dispute Resolution is a pioneering method to resolve grievances, issues or disputes, especially now when both consumers and business started to use virtual space for concluding contracts and performing various transactions.

Legal action may not be the most suitable remedy for disputes especially so when such disputes are the outcome of e-commerce transactions or dealings on the Internet. The Internet exposes us to a variety of fields and in turn disputes too seem to be inevitable. It is best to resolve these grievances, issues or disputes arising as a result of the Internet in that very same environment, that is, the Internet.

As for the ordinary locally based offline consumer disputes too the traditional court intervention does not benefit the consumers as well as traders to find a settlement in a cost effective and fast manner. The crawling attitude of the court behavior to find a settlement will definitely lead the clients to find a better alternative to this effect.

ODR supplements existing ADR methods based on the assumption that certain disputes (more specifically e-disputes) can also be resolved quickly and adequately via the Internet. ODR can be defined as the deployment of applications and computer networks for resolving disputes with ADR methods. Both e-disputes and brick and mortar disputes can be resolved using ODR.

SoftSettle Support has come up with innovative digitilized concepts that can eliminate the limitations of the traditional legal devices to find a resolution to the effect of consumer issues whether it is offline or online.

SoftSettle Support has developed a concept where dispute resolution techniques range from methods where parties have full control of the procedure, to methods where a third party is in control of both the process and the outcome. These primary methods of resolving disputes may be complemented with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). When the process is conducted mainly online it is referred to as ODR, i.e. to carry out most of the dispute resolution procedure online, including the initial filing, framing up the issues, electronic negotiation, the neutral appointment, evidentiary processes, oral hearings if needed, online discussions, and even the rendering of binding settlements. Thus, SoftSettle has developed an ODR system which is a different medium to resolve disputes, from beginning to end, respecting due process principles.

Traditional Court system does not provide an effective solution to the effect of Consumer Dispute Resolution.

SoftSettle Support

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) describes a range of methods (such as mediation and arbitration) designed to avoid the need to go to court to enforce legal rights. Usually these methods are a cheaper and quicker route for resolving a dispute.

SoftSettle Support has stepped up further with a new innovative resolution tools to make the consumer dispute resolution more cheaper and flexible. SoftSettle Support has come up with new techniques that can support the varying nature of online and offline marketplaces in a dynamic fashion. Further the described techniques provide a comprehensive ODR system that may be tailored to, and integrated within, an online and offline market place. The technology built by SoftSettle Support allow automated or manually assisted processes to address the grievances of the customers.

All the designs developed are enough to reduce the time and enhance the flexibility so as to generate the efficiency which are more and enough for limiting the extent of reputation of both buyers and sellers.

The techniques integrated in the software may provide new technology, online and offline user interface processes which allow the ODR system described herein to automatically tailor a dispute resolution experience for users or user types with given sets of issues. As a result ODR system can better route disputes in an automated or manual fashion separately or in an combined fashion.

Techniques are described for handling disputes online. The technology addresses needs arising through the recent growth of global online and offline marketplace and online and offline selling.

Suitable Alternatives to Resolve the Consumer Complaints

SoftSettle Support

The online commercial transactions used to witness disputes subsequent to the transactions or it is appropriate to say disputes are always incidental to the online transactions such as e-commerce trading, where parties located in different corners of the world can contract with each other using the device like internet. In the case of any disputes arising out of these types of online transactions, the litigation is often inconvenient, impractical, time consuming and prohibitive. Providing an alternative approach to resolve online disputes might assist in redressing grievances and gaining consumer confidence in e-commerce conflicts.

As the internet rapidly emerges as a speedy and cost-effective way of conducting business, the number of disputes arising out of the use of this new technology also increases. By adopting ADR as an alternative to litigation to resolve the e-commerce disputes, technology is being borrowed to support ADR or ODR to be the appropriate settlement mechanism to resolve such disputes. Online disputes typically arise in relation to material that is displayed or available online. E-Commerce disputes are such disputes, arising out of business-to-consumer contracts initiated on the internet could be resolved online.

Online ADR or ODR can be used to resolve issues concerning delivery of products, enforcement of warranties, guarantees on products, over billing issues, defective goods, to name a few examples. In fact, several ODR providers are involved in assisting parties to reach a settlement in online contractual disputes. The defects or any unwanted properties of the product delivered online shall be noticed by the customer would be brought to the table of dispute resolution by the ODR provider and the E-Commerce provider shall be binding with the decision of ODR mechanism and they have to mend the fences with the customer against the damages caused that worried him. This example highlights some of the advantages of using ODR to resolve contractual disputes.

The flexible and often party-friendly nature of ADR, coupled with the remarkable technological features of the internet, makes an appropriate instrument to resolve online conflicts. The reasons are:

Economically viable;
Speedy Resolution;
Non-confrontational Mechanism;
Eliminates Complex Jurisdictional and Choice-of-Law Problems;
Facilitates documentation of records

SoftSettle Support has gone further in providing such a platform like Soft Settle with one or two modes and an escalated mode with an additional platform like Mediator Affair which is integrated in www.odrsupport.com

The platform Soft Settle provides more simple and easier devices to resolve complaints.

Any complaint related to purchased products or services can now be resolved to mutual satisfaction quickly. Customers no longer need to vent their frustration, instead they can use Soft Settle to describe their problem via simple icons and text. Stores can respond promptly, taking customer care to a new level. If both sides still can’t find an agreement, the customer can “escalate” their claim and ask a neutral professional for a decision.

Soft Settle is one of the global platforms for resolving consumer claims. Having filed a claim in just a few clicks through online application, buyer can reach an agreement with a seller or- if unsuccessful- escalate the issue and request a decision from an independent neutral and if further failed, the issue can be referred to further an appellate tribunal where a professional neutral assigned by an ODR provider empanelled being integrated in a different application ODRSUPPORT or www.odrsupport.com powered by the same SoftSettle Support.

Soft Settle deals with E-Commerce Disputes

SoftSettle Support

The proliferation of electronic commerce using the Internet as a common communication medium has established a need for an effective dispute resolution mechanism when exchanges in electronic commerce are unsatisfactory to one or more the parties involved. The Internet is a convenient medium by which consumers and businesses can purchase a variety of goods and services. Since buyers and sellers meet online, convenience of selecting, ordering and payment is offset by the possibility of the transaction not occurring as planned and the difficulty in resolving any issues post-order. Issues could include corrupt traders or merchants, a failure to deliver the goods or services promised, a lack of quality in the goods or services which are delivered or other ways in which one of the two parties feels that the transaction did not occur as expected. The difficulty of resolving an issue once it occurs is compounded by the fact the parties are in different locations and therefore cannot show one another visually what may be the issue, or cannot discuss face to face other alternatives that they may lead to mutual satisfaction. All these factors also contribute to a general lack of trust between parties. Hence the lack of adequate system lead to leave the parties highly dissatisfied with the electronic commerce experience with a common outcome of not participating as much or at all due to the risks or due to an incidence of real or perceived dispute.

What can SS-EQUITY (E-Com Dispute Resolution) do to resolve e-commerce disputes?

Finding the traditional dispute resolution processes like court litigation and traditional ADR do not provide an effective solution and so far not effective in dealing with cross-border or cross-state or often times cross-locality transactions that may occur in electronic commerce and further traditional ADR are generally slow and very procedural comparatively.

As such SS-EQUITY (E-Commerce) groomed up with an ODR system applies the techniques beyond the traditional dispute resolution mechanisms, such as automated complaint handling, automated direct negotiation between the parties, automated agreement processes, facilitating case handling, facilitated mediation, specialized mediation processes and specific marketplace processes could able to meet the challenges posed by the present trend of e-commerce disputes. Techniques are described for handling disputes online. The

techniques particularly relate to low-volume as well as high-volume dispute handling, and integration with an online marketplace or general online selling. The techniques can handle even a very high volume of concurrent disputes cost effectively, and provide for the central management of a large and geographically distributed group of dispute resolution specialists that assist

with online dispute resolution. The techniques address needs arising through the recent growth of global online market places and online selling.

Commitments

Soft Settle facilitates the parties with the techniques aiming at faster settlement with transparency in the solutions. Further SS-Equity (ECDR) incorporated in the platform Soft Settle promotes effortless experiences in resolving e-commerce disputes.

Features

A method is technically integrated to enable a complainant to automatically design a dispute resolution process from a plurality of component process.
Technical integration of a method to receive characterization information
Technical integration of a method to enable access to deliberation information associated with a second dispute to facilitate resolution of first dispute.
Assisting a review of a plurality of component processes that respectively utilized to facilitate the resolution of a dispute.
Independent review feedback is incorporated
The settlement process can be synchronous or asynchronous as according to the convenience of the parties.
Repeated e-Negotiation till a resolution is found
An escalated mode with a neutral assisting the disputants in finding a solution (software built) where the neutral’s decision in respect of disputes would be final.
As an appeal parties can again approach an appellate tribunal in a different platform Mediator Affair integrated in www.odrsupport.com.
An automatic Agreement would be generated on settlement in all situations referred above after the parties approving the Agreement Framework.

Electronic Dispute Resolution of E-Commerce Disputes through Internet

SoftSettle Support

Today, consumers order billions of dollars of merchandise, manufactures, and parts, orchestrate the transnational assembly of products, and move vast amounts of capital from one financial institution to another using electronic means including the internet.

The Internet transformed the way the industrialized world does business over the Internet only with organizations having a physical location in their state. Businesses doing business transactions confront the same problems. The result is uncertainty. Uncertainty breeds apprehension. Apprehension castes a chilling pale over the Internet preventing the opportunities for speed of light, inexpensive commerce from business only using a brick and mortar store, or else use the phone, mail, or the internet without the desired certainty as to jurisdiction and choice of law. However, if you have ever been in a lawsuit, as opposed to private Undercurrent law, this is uncertain and large, expensive; time- consuming fights may develop. It is desired to avoid having to deal with these issues by providing disputes in the same manner as the original transaction was conducted, i.e., on-line using client computers connected together over the Internet.

SoftSettle Support has come forward with an invention to run in internet that can take challenge to defeat the tribulations of expensive, time consuming litigations apart from confusion over choosing the laws of the countries.

It is further recognized herein that the desired dispute arising out of an e-commerce transaction, or who generally engage in transactions over the Internet. The desired system would also provide an inexpensive and convenient on-line forum to resolve business over the Internet with the correspondingly similar ease and time-saving convenience as entering into those on-line transactions in the first place. It would be advantageous to get disagreements considered and adjudicated as quickly as possible and from the convenience of the parties’ own computers. It is desired that the parties should be able to do so before an independent, impartial tribunal without having to resolve expensive and time-consuming issues of where the method of electronically adjudicating a method including selecting an electronic dispute, and electronically processing the adjudicating of the dispute to resolution. It may be agreed upon in advance of finalizing an e-commerce transaction giving rise to a dispute resolution by electronic agreement. The level selecting step may include a mutual agreement by parties involved in the dispute before or after the transaction is finalized.

A system, software and dispute are further provided, the dispute adjudication level from multiple levels providing various extents of procedural options involved in the adjudicating of the dispute in accordance with the selected level including electronic filing of each of a complaint, an answer to the complaint, and final argument submissions by parties involved in the dispute resolution web page accessible by parties involved in the dispute resolution web page.

The platform Soft Settle facilitates resolution with the issues being considered to be provided with the neutral adjudication in basic and escalated mode as the appeal or second attempt being integrated in www.softsettle.com and if not satisfied by the clients further extension of the adjudication to be referred to another appellate tribunal with a different platform Mediator Affair integrated in www.odrsupport.com powered by SoftSettle Support.