Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Alternative Dispute Resolution (38 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Alternative Dispute Resolution

The High Cost of Broadband for USO Excluded UK Communities

30th August, 2020 (57 Comments)

The elephant in the room of the UK Government’s broadband centric Universal Service Obligation (USO) has always been the fact that it isn’t truly “universal” and tens of thousands of premises have fallen outside of its scope. In other words, getting a minimum speed of 10Mbps can become very expensive for some.

Complaints Handler Ombudsman Services Returns to Normal

25th June, 2020 (2 Comments)

Consumer complaints handler firm Ombudsman Services, which is an Ofcom approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider for UK broadband ISPs and mobile operators, has announced that it will return to normal requirements and timelines at the beginning of July 2020, following the COVID-19 crisis.

New UK Homes Ombudsman’s Remit to Cover Broadband Speed

26th February, 2020 (6 Comments)

The UK Government has confirmed its intention to launch a ‘New Homes Ombudsman’ in order to protect homebuyers from “rogue” developers and their shoddy work, but if you look deep into the text this also appears to include tackling complaints related to “broadband performance.” Sadly the details are extremely vague.

Ex-BT Man Becomes Regulatory Director for Ombudsman Services

6th December, 2019 (24 Comments)

The Ofcom approved consumer complaints handler firm Ombudsman Services, which is an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider for broadband ISPs and mobile operators, has hired a former head of commercial and regulatory strategy at BT’s consumer business – Ed Dodman – to be their Director of Regulatory Affairs.

Consumer Complaints About UK Telecoms Services Rise in 2019

22nd June, 2019 (2 Comments)

Complaints firm Ombudsman Services, which is one of Ofcom’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) handlers for consumer broadband, phone and mobile gripes, has published a new report that notes how complaints about UK telecoms services have increased from 11% in 2018 to 12% this year.

Consultancy Propose Changes to Handling of UK Telecoms Complaints

5th March, 2019 (0 Comments)

Consultancy firm Mott MacDonald, which were hired by Ofcom to review the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, have made a series of recommendations in order to better ensure that consumer complaints handlers for broadband, phone and mobile issues improve the process of accepting and adjudicating cases.

New Ombudsman Boss Wants to Help UK Telcos Retain Customers

3rd December, 2018 (5 Comments)

The new CEO and Chief Ombudsman at UK consumer complaints handler firm Ombudsman Services: Communications, Matthew Vickers, has said that he sees his role as helping naughty broadband ISPs and mobile operators to retain more customers (i.e. reducing churn in the sector).

Ofcom Fines Care Free UK ISP £10K for ADR Complaints Failure UPDATE

26th April, 2018 (0 Comments)

The UK telecoms regulator has fined a small broadband and phone provider – Care Free Communications – some £10,000 after discovering that the ISP contravened their rules (GC14.5) by not being a member of an official ombudsman consumer complaints handler (ADR) scheme.

Government Proposes Tougher Rules to Protect UK Consumers

11th April, 2018 (7 Comments)

The Government has today published a new Green Paper that proposes a number of changes to help protect consumers from bad practices, such as by simplifying Terms & Conditions (T&Cs), bundles and protecting people from “unexpected payments” that may arise via subscription services.

Ofcom Warns UK ISP Care Free Communications Over Complaints

20th February, 2018 (0 Comments)

Little known broadband and phone provider Care Free Communications has got itself into hot water with Ofcom, which comes after the telecoms regulator found “reasonable grounds for believing” that the ISP was no longer a member of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

UPDATE Ofcom Tweak ADR Schemes to Improve UK ISP Complaints Handling

27th November, 2017 (3 Comments)

The telecoms regulator has today made several changes to improve the performance of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers, which are third-party ombudsman schemes that help consumers to resolve complaints with UK phone, broadband and mobile providers etc.

Ofcom Review the UK Performance of ADR Consumer Complaints Handlers

31st March, 2017 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has today launched a ‘Call for Inputs‘ on their plan to review the performance of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers, which are third-party ombudsman schemes that help consumers to resolve complaints with broadband, phone and mobile providers etc.

Poor Service Costs UK Phone, Broadband and Mobile Providers £2.68bn

15th February, 2017 (4 Comments)

The annual report from Ombudsman Services, which is one of Ofcom’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) handlers for consumer broadband, phone and mobile complaints, has revealed that UK people made 55 million complaints during 2016 and 13% were telecoms related.

Ofcom Hits Vodafone UK with Record £4.6m Fine for “Failing Customers”

26th October, 2016 (10 Comments)

The telecoms regulator has today hit “failing” UK mobile and broadband provider Vodafone with a “record” fine of £4,625,000 after they were found to have breached a series of consumer complaint handing rules. Ofcom’s investigation of the case uncovered a variety of serious mis-selling, inaccurate billing and poor complaints handling procedures.

ISPs Raise Concern Over Automatic Compensation for Broadband Faults

11th August, 2016 (7 Comments)

Ofcom’s proposal to give residential and small business consumers in the United Kingdom an automatic right to compensation from their broadband, phone or mobile provider when things go wrong (here), such as due to a “loss or reduction of service“, has drawn widespread concern from ISPs.

Ofcom Finds Vodafone UK Breached its Complaint Handling Rules

6th June, 2016 (0 Comments)

The United Kingdom’s telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today ruled that there are “reasonable grounds for believing” that mobile and broadband provider Vodafone breached consumer complaint handing rules by not having the correct procedures in place.

Ofcom Drops UK Probe into Vodafone’s Billing Practices

9th February, 2016 (2 Comments)

The national UK telecoms regulator has decided to drop its own-initiative investigation into Vodafone’s billing procedures after they found that the mobile operator was behaving itself, although they are continuing to investigate how the operator handles customer complaints.