CommsADR

• Premium Rate Services
• Quizzes and Competitions
• Subscription Services
• Video on Demand Services
• Pay-TV
• Chat Lines
• Adult Services
• Mobile Apps
• Charity Donations
• Voting (TV and Web)
• Gambling (Via Mobile Phone or App)
• Directory Enquiries (118 numbers) 

We cannot deal with your complaint if:

• You haven’t already made a complaint direct to the retailer/trader and either received a final response or at least 8 weeks has passed since you filed your complaint;
• The retailer/trader does not subscribe to our scheme

• Billing and customer service disputes for domestic and micro-business mobile phones and smartphones (contract and pre-paid)
• Billing and customer service disputes for domestic and micro-business landline (fixed line) telephones
• Billing and customer service disputes for domestic and micro-business broadband internet including mobile broadband (dongle)
• Wi-Fi services
• Dial up internet
• Problems which are already being dealt with by the courts or other complaints procedures
• PAY-TV

We have an obligation to process claims within 90 days of receiving the evidence from both consumer and comms provider. However, passengers typically receive their decision within 30 days.

The scheme is approved and regulated by Ofcom, the communications sector Regulator.

To file a Service Complaint click here.
Alternatively, all complaints should initially be addressed to:

Head of Service Complaints
CDRL
Stratford Office Village
Unit 12 Walker Avenue, Wolverton Mill
Milton Keynes
MK12 5TW

Complaints should be in writing and should provide full details of the complaint, including your complaint ID number and the name of the Complaint Handler/Adjudicator where possible/applicable.

To complain by post, please download a paper complaint form adjacent to this drop down menu. Once you have completed your complaint form, please return it to us at our registered office address (CDRL, 12/14 Walker Avenue, Wolverton Mill, MK12 5TW) along with any evidence in support of your complaint. We shall deal with your complaint entirely by post. This may cause some delays to our standard complaint handling timeframes as set out in our Scheme Rules.

Please refer to our Reasonable Adjustments Policy contained in our Scheme Rules. To make a reasonable adjustments request, please either write to us via our support centre, by post or by telephone at 0203 540 8063. We will only be able to accept telephone calls for genuine requests for reasonable adjustments.

Alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) is used to resolve disputes informally and confidentially without the matter being dealt with by the courts.

If you accept the adjudicator’s decision within the requisite timeframe, it will become binding upon the company. The company subsequently has 28 days to fulfil the directions set by the adjudicator. If you reject the decision, the Final Determination has no effect on you or the company.

To ensure that our principles of independence and impartiality are upheld, the adjudicator has no direct contact with either party to the dispute. However, if you require reasonable adjustments to submit your claim, you may contact our Administration Team by telephone.

No, the whole arbitration process is conducted in writing.

No, there is no obligation to have legal representation, but you may ask one to submit your claim for you if you want to. Please be advised that you will be unbale to claim for any charges you may be charged for a solicitor’s service.

The ADR service is free to use.

You can submit a claim to ADR if:

1. The dispute is with a company that is a member of the Scheme;
2. Your claim falls within scope of our Scheme Rules; and
3. You have raised your complaint directly with the company in writing and either i) received a final written response (known as a ‘deadlock letter’) or ii) afforded the company eight weeks to respond to your dispute.

The Award will be produced within 90 days of us receiving a Complete Complaint File.

The Final Determination will have no effect in law if you choose not to accept it. We respectfully request that you inform us of your decision so that we can tell the company. If you reject the decision, you remain free to seek alternative redress by taking your claim to court.

You and the company remain free to settle the dispute independently outside of ADR at any time before the Final Determination is published by the adjudicator. If you opt to do this, our ADR scheme is unable to be involved in any negotiations. If a settlement is agreed, you must contact us immediately, in writing, to cease the ADR process. We will subsequently contact both parties to confirm that we will be closing the case as settled.

If the company does not follow the adjudicator’s directions within the requisite timeframe, you should contact us so we can make further enquiries with the company. However, in the event the Final Determination remains unsatisfied, you will have to submit to the courts for enforcement. We are unable to provide any guidance or advice about this process.