Consumer Arbitration Services
Operating across United Kingdom
About the Scheme
We can deal with most disputes between consumers and traders including disputes in relation to:
- Returning Goods
- Faulty Goods
- Missing parts
- Delivery
- Customer service
- Misrepresentation
- Product description
- Other
We cannot deal with complaints about any of the following sectors:
- Financial institutions (i.e. Banks)
- Vehicle sales and servicing
- Utility providers (water, gas, electricity)
- Phone service providers
- Solicitors
- Other professional providers
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.
FAQ’s
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) carried out in line with the Arbitration Act 1996. It is a cost effective, speedier and a less formal alternative to resolving your dispute through the courts. It is conducted privately based upon written documentation and evidence.
An arbitrator is a neutral person who makes a legal and binding decision (“Award”) after considering the evidence that both the Claimant and Respondent submits. The role of an arbitrator is similar to that of a judge and the award will be conducted fairly and neutrally. The arbitrator has wide discretion to determine the way in which the case will run. Arbitration is a legal process and the Arbitrator must make their decision based on the law.
The Award is the document with the decision that the Arbitrator produces once they have considered all the evidence. You and the Respondent are legally bound by the Arbitrator’s decision, which is enforceable in the courts if either party does not comply with it, subject to any provisions in the rules. It contains legally binding orders for the parties and details of the case and the Arbitrator’s explanation as to why they decided the case as they did. The Arbitrator decides the case purely on the arguments and evidence presented by the parties. The parties must prove their case on the balance of probability to the satisfaction of the Arbitrator. Consumers should note that court proceedings may result in a different outcome to the Arbitration process.
The Arbitrator is restricted to consideration of the documents and evidence submitted, unless it deems it appropriate to request further information or evidence, or conduct independent research via the internet. It is important to make every point and submit all supporting evidence that you consider relevant.
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.
No, the whole arbitration process is conducted in writing.
To ensure that our principles of independence and impartiality are upheld, the arbitrator 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.
There is a nominal administration fee to consumers of £10.00 for disputes up to the value of £750.00 and £25.00 for disputes over and above £750.00.
You can submit a claim to Consumer Arbitration if:
- The dispute is with a company that is a member of the Scheme;
- Your claim falls within scope of our Scheme Rules; and
- 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 28 days of us receiving a Complete Complaint File.
The Award is legally binding under the Arbitration Act 1996 and cannot be overturned unless a court decides it is a result of fraud, corruption or serious misconduct by the arbitrator. Court action like this is uncommon and should not be attempted without independent legal advice and representation.
You and the company remain free to settle the dispute independently outside of Arbitration at any time before the Award is published by the arbitrator. If you opt to do this, Consumer Arbitration is unable to be involved in any negotiations. If a settlement is agreed, you must contact us immediately, in writing, to cease the Arbitration 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 arbitrator’s directions within the requisite timeframe, you should contact us so we can make further enquiries with the company. However, in the event the Award remains unsatisfied, you will have to submit to the courts for enforcement of the award. We are unable to provide any guidance or advice about this process.
How Consumer Arbitration Scheme Works
How it Works
Step 1
Upon submission of your claim form and arbitration fee, our administration team will verify that the claim is within the jurisdiction of the scheme, within 48 hours.
Step 2
If your claim is deemed to be ‘in scope’ it is passed to the trader for review. They will then have 21 days to provide a response/defence to your claim.
Step 3
Following submission of the traders response/defence, you will be notified and given the opportunity to comment on what the trader has said. This is known as your ‘Reply’ and must be submitted within 7 days.
Step 4
Following submission of your Reply, the trader is given 7 days to provide any comment in relation to this. Following this, Consumer Arbitration will notify the parties that it has a ‘Complete Complaint File’.
Step 5
The case is passed to an Arbitrator who will produce a written decision (known as an ‘Award’) within 28 days.
Consumer Arbitration Subscribers
The retailers below have subscribed to Consumer Arbitration. If the retailer your complaint is with does not appear below, you can either look on our RetailADR to site to see if they subscribe to that scheme (www.retailadr.org.uk) or contact our support centre for further assistance here.
Ready to lodge your complaint?
Customer Assistance
Contact Centre
Our contact centre operates Monday to Friday, 9am – 5:30pm and is on hand to provide information and assistance for consumers wishing to lodge a claim or obtain an update.
Contact can be made here
Connect with us
