There is no evidence that merging dispute resolution services will improve consumer outcomes, the Credit and Investments Ombudsman argues in its submission to the review of external dispute resolution.CIO's submission to the Government's EDR review said there was ample evidence that having two ASIC-approved EDR schemes allowed each scheme to benchmark its performance against the other and, in doing so, both schemes improve their performance and meet best practice.The CIO, Raj Venga, in the submission also makes a strong case for a triage service, as a single entry point into the system for consumers."Any duplication of functions has little, if any, relevance in the present context, given CIO and the Financial Ombudsman Service operate in relatively distinct markets. There is little, if any, overlap in their memberships," the CIO submission said.According to the CIO, FOS's members are from the big end of town, while CIO's are from the small end of town and comprise almost whole industry sectors. CIO's membership includes most building societies, securitisation servicers, lenders mortgage insurers, non-bank lenders, mortgage managers, aggregators, debt purchasers, finance brokers, small amount enders and timeshare operators. "This has allowed CIO to develop specific expertise in these areas. It is not appropriate to treat small financial services providers in the same way as big FSPs, which attract most of the complaints," CIO said."There is no evidence to suggest that the existence of two or more schemes adds unnecessary and inefficient costs to EDR services."CIO said the merger of five EDR schemes into FOS in 2008 had not produced the efficiencies anticipated. The most recent independent review of FOS by CameronRalph Navigator described the merger-related activities as "productivity-sapping".In 2008, the Productivity Commission recommended against a single scheme along the lines of the UK Financial Services Ombudsman, saying it was not warranted given the different types of complaints dealt with by the two bodies and the different nature of member businesses.CIO said the single UK scheme was the exception not the norm in Europe. Germany has 11 schemes. France, Italy and Spain each have three.The Productivity Commission recommended an "umbrella" - with a common telephone service, website and other consumer contacts. This would allow a single referral and complaint pathway for consumers and suppliers.??CIO said it supported this triage approach, calling for the establishment of a common entry point to allow consumers and small businesses to call a single phone number or visit a dedicated website and inquire as to the most appropriate body to assist them. Consumers could be directed not only to the appropriate EDR scheme but also to Centrelink, a financial counselling service, a community legal centre or a state fair trading department, where appropriate.CIO said it was opposed to the establishment of a tribunal. "Our argument is that most dispute resolution is best handled by an appropriate industry-based EDR scheme. The imposition of a tribunal jurisdiction between such a scheme and the courts seems unnecessarily resource-intensive."We do not consider that a tribunal would be appropriate for disputes that would normally come