Deadlock means the provider says it cannot resolve the complaint; telecom ADR can also be accessed once six weeks have passed from the formal complaint.
Telecom ADR gives consumers an independent route when a provider complaint has stalled. A deadlock letter can allow immediate referral. Since 8 April 2026, consumers generally do not need to wait more than six weeks before contacting the provider’s ADR scheme.
The two approved schemes are Communications Ombudsman and CISAS. Your provider belongs to one of them.
Key points
- Keep the deadlock/final response.
- Check which ADR scheme your provider belongs to.
- Define the complaint issues before submitting.
- Ask for remedies that the scheme can realistically award.
When you can go
You can normally refer when the provider issues deadlock or six weeks have elapsed since the formal complaint. Do not keep waiting indefinitely because an adviser says “someone will call you back”.
What to send
- Concise chronology
- Issue list
- Final/deadlock response
- Key bills/contract evidence
- Credit report if relevant
- Specific remedy schedule
What ADR is not
ADR is not Ofcom enforcement and it is not a court. The scheme applies its terms and considers evidence to reach an independent outcome. Read the scheme rules before submitting.
In practice
- Treat the ADR submission as a fresh, organised case rather than forwarding an entire email chain.
- Show where the provider’s final response fails to engage with evidence.
- If the provider has already offered a remedy, compare it with the remedy you say is required.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Confirm the formal complaint date.
- Request deadlock if the provider has reached a final position.
- Identify the correct ADR scheme.
- Prepare chronology/issues/evidence.
- Submit within the scheme’s time limits.
- Read the decision against every issue before accepting or challenging it under any available scheme process.
Common traps
Things that often confuse the issue
- Older advice still says eight weeks; telecom ADR changed to six weeks in April 2026.
- Do not submit to the wrong scheme.
- Do not assume a regulator complaint to Ofcom is a substitute.
Evidence worth keeping
Do not confuse ADR with reporting the provider to Ofcom.
Ofcom can receive information about provider conduct and enforce sector rules, but it generally does not determine your individual claim for a refund or compensation. ADR is the route designed to resolve the individual dispute. In some cases both routes can be appropriate for different purposes.
ADR is usually free to the eligible consumer, but it is still an evidence process.
Identify the provider’s approved scheme: Communications Ombudsman or CISAS, and read its scope and procedural rules before filing. Include the complaint itself, relevant contract/bills, the provider’s final position, a chronology and the remedy sought. Exclude irrelevant material that makes the live issues harder to see.
Make sure the provider has actually logged a complaint.
A technical-support call or billing query is not always recorded as a formal complaint. If the issue persists, say clearly that you are making a complaint and keep proof of the date. That protects the chronology and prevents an avoidable dispute later about when the ADR waiting period began.
Useful wording.
“Please record this as a formal complaint from today and provide the complaint reference. If you consider your position final, please issue deadlock. Otherwise please confirm the date on which the six-week ADR period will expire.”
Deadlock means the internal complaint has reached an impasse: it is not the only gateway to ADR.
A provider can issue a deadlock letter where it has reached its final position and cannot agree a resolution with you. From 8 April 2026, however, the ordinary waiting period for eligible telecom ADR access is six weeks rather than the former eight weeks. If six weeks have passed and the complaint remains unresolved, you can normally approach the provider’s ADR scheme even if the provider has not voluntarily issued deadlock.
Getting through the gateway
The six-week clock depends on the complaint being raised: not on endless support activity
From 8 April 2026, Ofcom shortened the normal ADR waiting period from eight weeks to six. Preserve the date on which the provider was first given notice of the matter as a complaint. If the provider has only created fault tickets, billing queries or chat cases, make the complaint status explicit in writing.
Deadlock is an earlier gateway, not a requirement to wait six weeks
If the provider says it cannot or will not resolve the complaint to your satisfaction and issues a deadlock letter, you can usually approach the relevant approved ADR scheme without waiting for the full period. Check which scheme the provider belongs to: Communications Ombudsman and CISAS are the approved telecom ADR schemes.
What if the provider will not even register the complaint?
The Communications Ombudsman's current Terms expressly allow for a complainant who has encountered sustained difficulty registering a complaint with a participating company. Keep screenshots, call logs, rejected emails and chat transcripts showing the attempts. Do not manufacture a deadlock letter that does not exist; explain the registration problem and provide the evidence.
ADR does not replace every parallel route
Ofcom may still be interested in regulatory intelligence; the ICO may deal with a genuine data-protection issue; and a regulated handset-credit complaint may fall within financial-services jurisdiction. Keep those issues distinct so one body is not asked to decide another body's question.
Six weeks is a gateway, not a reason to stop trying to resolve the case
You can continue negotiating with the provider while preparing ADR. The practical benefit of the time limit is that the provider cannot keep an unresolved eligible complaint in an endless internal loop. Once the gateway is open, decide whether further internal contact is likely to add evidence or merely delay independent review.
“Complaint closed” is not necessarily the same as “complaint resolved”
A provider can mark its internal case closed because it has reached a final position. If you do not accept that position, preserve the closure/final-response evidence and use the applicable ADR route. Internal status labels do not remove external dispute rights.
Official sources
Check the rules behind this guide
These are official or primary sources for this topic. Rules, scheme terms and deadlines can change, so check the live source before relying on a formal time limit or procedure.