Comms ADR

Complaints We Can Deal With

CommsADR can accept most non-regulated complaints about a provider that is a participating Member of our scheme.

You can use CommsADR where something the provider has done (or failed to do) has left you out of pocket, without the goods or services you were entitled to – or if you’ve been treated unfairly.

We can only deal with disputes concerning ‘non-regulated’ matters.

Non-Regulated Matters: “Disputes that fall outside the jurisdiction of the primary communications regulators and ombudsmen (such as Ofcom and the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS), where there is no automatic right to mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution”.

Common examples of complaints we can deal with include:

Mobile handsets
Broadband routers
Cable and satellite television (faulty equipment)
The location of telegraph poles
The location of mobile phone masts
Cable and wiring inside your property
Courier and Postal services
Non-micro business billing disputes
Commercial decisions made by communications companies about whether to provide a product or service – and the terms under which it is provided
Premium Rate Services
Quizzes and Competitions
Subscription Services
Chat Lines
Adult Services
Mobile Apps
Charity Donations
Voting (TV and Web)
Directory Enquiries (118 numbers)

This list is not exhaustive!

If you are unsure whether we can help, you can still submit your complaint and we will assess whether it falls within our Scheme Rules.

Use of the CommsADR Adjudication service is FREE to consumers and can be submitted without the need for any independent advice or third-party representation.

Complaints We Cannot Deal With

CommsADR cannot deal with regulated communications complaints, which must go to Ofcom and the Communications Ombudsman instead. These include:

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, including mobile broadband (dongle)
PAY-TV
Wi-Fi services
Dial up internet

We also cannot consider a complaint where:

The same dispute is already with a court, or with another ADR scheme, or has previously been decided
The complaint is, in our view, frivolous or vexatious
The amount claimed exceeds our £25,000 award limit (we’ll tell you if this applies, and you may choose to proceed on the basis that the claim is limited to £25,000)
Dealing with it would seriously impair the effective operation of the scheme

For a full, comprehensive list of complaints we cannot accept, please make sure to read through our Scheme Rules.

CommsADR can only deal with unresolved complaints.

To be eligible to make a complaint against a provider using CommsADR, you must have already complained to that provider directly in writing and either: