Rises in complaints about new land-line phone services, such as those based off local loop unbundling (LLU), has caused Ofcom to extend its investigation into fixed-line mis-selling. Several unnamed providers are reportedly already being targeted for enforcement notifications.

The regulator also announced an industry-wide investigation into compliance with the obligation to be a member of one of the dispute resolution schemes (ADR), which are designed to deal with consumer complaints:


Under Ofcom rules, all communications providers must join an independent dispute resolution scheme (such as Otelo or Cisas). The regulator can take action against providers who fail to join a scheme, potentially resulting in a fine of up to 10% of relevant turnover for non-compliance.

Ofcom's initial tightening of the rules during 2005 helped to reduce fixed line telephony mis-selling complaints from a peak of 1,200 per month in 2005 to around 350 per month in January 2008.