Press Distribution Forum releases updated Press Distribution Charter

Press Distribution Forum has published an updated Press Distribution Charter together with a dedicated charter website.

The third edition of the Charter follows of a review conducted by the Press Distribution Review Panel under an independent chairman who listened to the views of retailers.

“I must say, it has been terrific to receive the input from Federation (NFRN) colleagues this time around. Our NFRN colleagues, as you would expect, have really come at this from a retailer perspective and all stakeholders have been impressed with this approach,” commented John Howard, PDF chair.

In a major development, the new charter reduces complaint resolution stages down from three to two. This change has been made to effect clearer understanding across the industry and to guide the complainant more swiftly to arbitration should the need arise.

The dedicated website is designed specifically for retailers to easily access the relevant information contained in the charter. The website will better assist retailers in understanding the complaint process, guide them more swiftly to the answers they need and how to proceed further in resolving an issue.

The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) has hailed the revamped Charter as “now fit for purpose”.

“The new streamlined charter is now fit for purpose and better reflects today’s marketplace. There is more transparency around what constitutes an official complaint and guidance on how to resolve the situation so one-off issues do not happen again,” Stuart Reddish, national president of NFRN, said

“As a member of the Press Distribution Forum, the NFRN has been pleased to play its part in this review. Some of our members have also been involved in the review and I would like to thank them for their feedback and recommendations.

“The Charter is no longer cumbersome, difficult to find and hard to understand, and we hope that this will encourage more retailers to use it with confidence when they need to make a formal complaint.”

The PDF, the self-regulatory body of associations and companies involved in the supply and distribution of newspapers and magazines, said it will be distributing 37,000 postcard sized charter guides to directly retailers via their wholesaler plus a further 15,000 will be included with the NFRN publication The Fed.