ISPA Reports Broadband Complaints Drop

By Seamus Swords Senior Staff Writer 16 July 2010

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Complaints to the UK Internet Service Providers Association's (ISPA) Alternative Dispute Resolution service(ADR) have fallen by more than 50% in the last year.

The ADR was dealing with around 400 complaints in January 2009 but by June 2010 this had dropped to 167, resolving a massive amount of disputes between consumers and providers.

The ISPA represents over 200 providers and requires that all its members use an Ofcom approved Alternative Dispute Resolution service.

Despite the body's influence, however, some providers - such as and Talk Talk - are notable for not appearing on the ISPA membership list.

Nevertheless, the figures do suggest that broadband providers that are ISPA members - including Virgin Media, Sky and BT - are getting at handling complaints before they escalate.

Complaints procedure

The first port of call for any complaint is obviously the provider itself, after going through the traditional "have you switched it on and off" procedure, you will need to give the ISP time to try and resolve the problem.

If the ISP fails to resolve the problem, the larger providers will have an internal complaints procedure, asking about the problem as an official complaint will mean the issue will be treated differently from general support.

It's also recommended to write a letter stating that you've made an official complaint and send it via recorded delivery and keep the receipt for evidence.

An internal complaints procedure can take some time so don't be afraid to make a complaint to a different organisation to put more pressure on the company and get the desired result.

The next step

If there is no joy with your broadband then request a deadlock letter from them which should detail the complaint and the measures the took to try and resolve the situation.

If your ISP is a member of the ISPA (most small reputable providers are) then after 10 working days if the issue has not been resolved then the complaint can be put to the ISPA via its online form. This will put extra pressure on the company and will go a long way to help you get the desired result.

All UK ISPs are required to be a member of an approved ADR scheme so, if your provider isn't an ISPA member, they're the next step.

The advantage of an ADR is that they can order the ISP to fix the problem or pay compensation as long as your complaint has been activate for at least eight weeks or you have a deadlock letter from your provider.

Ofcom currently approve two ADR schemes, Otelo and CISAS both of which have membership list on the respective websites.

Happily, most complaints don't go this far and with less complaints being received by the ISPA we're hopefully seeing broadband providers dealing with complaints better than ever before.

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