Alternative Dispute Resolution for UK Consumers Explained

At a glance

• What ADR is: any way of settling a consumer dispute outside the courts — chiefly mediation, conciliation, arbitration and ombudsman schemes.
• The law changed on 6 April 2026: Chapter 4 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 came into force, replacing the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/542), which were revoked.
• Trader duty to inform: under section 308 of the 2024 Act, once a trader's own complaints process reaches deadlock, it must tell the consumer, on a durable medium, that it cannot resolve the complaint, name a relevant accredited ADR provider and its website, and say whether it is willing to use that provider.
• Who accredits ADR providers now: the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) for most non-regulated sectors, under a new mandatory accreditation framework — replacing the old voluntary approval system.
• Transition period: traders can still point consumers to providers approved (but not yet re-accredited) under the old 2015 regime until 5 October 2026.
• ADR is still generally voluntary for the trader to actually use, unless separate sector rules make it mandatory (for example, some regulated financial services activity).
• The EU Online Dispute Resolution platform is gone: it stopped taking new complaints from 20 March 2025 and was switched off completely on 20 July 2025 — it is not a live option for any dispute now.
• Court remains available throughout: using ADR, or a trader refusing it, does not remove your right to bring a county court claim, including through Money Claim Online.

What counts as alternative dispute resolution?

Alternative dispute resolution is the umbrella term for any method of settling a disagreement that sits outside the court system. For consumers in England and Wales, ADR usually means one of these:

• Mediation — a neutral, impartial person helps both sides talk through the issue and find their own workable compromise. The mediator does not decide who is right; the parties reach the agreement themselves.
• Conciliation — similar to mediation, but the conciliator may take a more active role in suggesting possible solutions. In UK consumer disputes this is less often offered as a separately branded process and is often folded into how an ombudsman or ADR provider handles a case.
• Arbitration — an independent arbitrator hears both sides and issues a decision, which is usually binding on one or both parties depending on the scheme's rules.
• Ombudsman schemes — a sector-specific body investigates the complaint and reaches a decision or recommendation, drawing on wide powers and expertise in that sector (financial services and energy are the best-known examples).

Traders in certain regulated sectors — financial services, energy, and others where sector-specific rules apply — are required to belong to an approved redress scheme, meaning consumers often have a free or low-cost route to an independent decision without ever going to court. Outside those sectors, using ADR remains voluntary for the trader, but since 6 April 2026 nearly all traders selling to consumers must at least tell you about it once a complaint reaches deadlock (see below).

ADR applies across a wide range of disputes — faulty goods, poor workmanship, billing disagreements with a credit provider (see our guide on your rights when borrowing money under the Consumer Credit Act), or a trader that used misleading or high-pressure sales tactics (covered in our guide to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations). If your dispute is really about being unable to pay rather than a trader being in the wrong, our guide on dealing with consumer debt covers different routes and protections.

The law changed on 6 April 2026

Consumer ADR in the UK has been reformed. Until 6 April 2026, the framework was set by the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/542) — regulations which required traders to point consumers to a certified ADR scheme once an in-house complaint had deadlocked, and which set standards for ADR providers to gain approval.

That framework has now been revoked. Chapter 4 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 came into force on 6 April 2026, replacing the voluntary approval system with a mandatory accreditation framework for ADR providers who want to handle consumer contract disputes. GOV.UK's own 2015 policy page on this subject has been formally withdrawn and marked as superseded by the 2024 Act reforms.

Two things carry over in substance, even though the legal source has changed:

1. The trader's duty to inform you. Section 308 of the 2024 Act now sets out the duty of a trader to notify a consumer of ADR arrangements once its own complaints process has reached a dead end. In practice this means the trader must confirm, in writing (on a "durable medium" such as email or paper), that it cannot resolve your complaint, tell you the name and website of an accredited ADR provider relevant to the dispute, and say whether it is prepared to use that provider.
2. Who checks the ADR providers are legitimate. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has been given functions as the accrediting body for ADR providers outside the regulated sectors, replacing the old "competent authority" model under which CTSI and the sector regulators (such as the energy and financial services regulators) separately approved schemes.

Transition period: if you're dealing with a trader now, you may still see references to a provider "approved" under the old 2015 regime rather than "accredited" under the new one. Traders are permitted to refer consumers to a 2015-approved provider until 5 October 2026, so both labels can legitimately appear during this window. Because this is a live transition, always check GOV.UK for the current position rather than relying on older guidance you find elsewhere, including anything published before April 2026.

Ombudsman schemes: sector-specific redress

Ombudsman schemes are specialised ADR bodies that investigate complaints within a particular sector, drawing on detailed knowledge of that sector's rules, and reach a decision or recommendation.

Financial services. If you have a complaint about a bank, insurer, lender or other financial business, you must normally complain to the business first and give it the chance to respond (the business must generally address your complaint or you can escalate if it hasn't within eight weeks). If you're unhappy with the outcome, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service — see GOV.UK's guidance on complaining about a financial service or product for the current process and contact details. A final decision from the ombudsman becomes binding on the business if you accept it, but you keep the right to reject it and go to court instead.

Energy. Complaints about your energy supplier or network operator generally need to be raised with them directly first. Under the current rules confirmed by Ofgem, if the problem isn't fixed within eight weeks, or you receive a "deadlock letter" saying it can't be resolved, or you're simply unhappy with the response, you can take the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman. Suppliers and network operators must carry out the actions in the ombudsman's decision, which can include fixing the problem, an explanation, or compensation — see Ofgem's guidance on complaining about your energy supplier. Because these windows and thresholds are periodically reviewed, check Ofgem's current page rather than assuming the eight-week figure is fixed indefinitely.

Other sectors. Similar sector-specific ombudsman or ADR arrangements exist for areas such as communications, postal services, aviation, property, and legal services. GOV.UK's consumer rights guidance explains that an ombudsman investigates complaints about organisations for free and may help resolve a complaint without going to court, and can point you toward the right body for your sector.

Online disputes: the EU ODR platform has closed

If you've read older guidance about resolving a dispute with an online trader, you may see a reference to the European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. That platform allowed consumers and traders to submit certain online-purchase disputes for referral to an ADR body across EU member states.

It no longer exists in that form. The platform stopped accepting new complaints from 20 March 2025 and was fully switched off on 20 July 2025, following an EU decision that usage had never been significant enough to justify keeping it running. There is no direct like-for-like replacement. If your dispute is with a UK trader, use the routes described in this guide — an accredited ADR provider, the relevant ombudsman, or a county court claim. If your dispute involves a trader based in an EU country, information about national consumer redress bodies is available through the European Commission's consumer redress resources, but the specific EU-wide online portal is gone. Treat any reference to "the ODR platform" you encounter from before mid-2025 as out of date.

ADR and the courts: small claims, MCOL and the Consumer Rights Act 2015

Your underlying consumer rights — the right to a repair, replacement, price reduction or refund for goods that don't meet the standard required, or for services not performed with reasonable care and skill — come from the Consumer Rights Act 2015. ADR and the courts are simply two different routes to enforcing those rights when a trader won't put things right voluntarily.

If ADR doesn't resolve the dispute, or isn't available, you can apply to a county court to claim money you're owed — what's commonly still called a "small claims" case for lower-value disputes. GOV.UK's guide to making a court claim for money explains that you can apply online or by post, that a mediation service may be offered as part of the process and could be quicker and cheaper than a hearing, and that Money Claim Online (MCOL) is the digital route for straightforward money claims. Court fees and the small claims track's financial limit are both reviewed from time to time — always check the current figures on GOV.UK before you start a claim rather than relying on a figure quoted in older articles, including this one at a later date.

Using ADR first is not always a strict legal requirement before you can issue a court claim, but the court process itself expects both sides to have made a reasonable attempt to settle, and a trader's unreasonable refusal to engage with ADR can be relevant to how the court later deals with costs.

How to use this guide, step by step

1. Raise the complaint directly with the trader first. Before any ADR route will engage, you need to have given the business a fair chance to put things right. Put your complaint in writing, set out what went wrong, state the remedy you want, and give a reasonable deadline for a response. Keep copies of everything — this matters both for ADR and for a later court claim.
2. Wait for the trader's deadlock response, or the point at which they should have replied. Once the trader's internal process has reached a dead end (or a sector-specific time limit, such as eight weeks in financial services or energy, has passed), it must tell you which accredited ADR provider covers your dispute and whether it will use it, under section 308 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
3. Check whether the sector has a mandatory ombudsman. Financial services and energy are the clearest examples — if your trader falls into one of these, the ombudsman route is usually free, well-established and the most efficient option.
4. For other disputes, check the ADR provider the trader has named. Look at what kind of ADR it offers (mediation, conciliation or arbitration), any fees, and whether its outcome is binding. Read any relevant contract clause carefully — some contracts require arbitration and can limit your options.
5. Prepare your case properly. Gather your contract, receipts, photographs, correspondence and any evidence of loss or inconvenience, and write a clear timeline of events. ADR processes are less formal than court, but a well-organised submission still makes a real difference to how your complaint is understood and decided.
6. If ADR doesn't resolve it, or the trader won't take part, consider a court claim. Money Claim Online is designed for straightforward, undisputed money claims; a mediation offer may still come up as part of the court process itself.
7. Follow through on the outcome. Check whether an ADR or ombudsman decision is binding on the trader, on you, or on both. If a trader ignores a binding outcome, you may be able to enforce it through the courts, so keep the paperwork.

What if the trader refuses to take part in ADR?

Where ADR is voluntary, a trader can decline to actually use it — but it cannot simply stay silent. Under section 308 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the trader must still tell you which accredited ADR provider would have covered the dispute, in writing, once its own complaints process has deadlocked. If the trader refuses to engage with ADR entirely, your options are to escalate within a regulated ombudsman scheme if one applies to that sector, or to bring a county court claim. A trader's unreasonable refusal to try ADR can also be a factor a court takes into account later on, including on costs.

This guide provides general information about alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances — if you're unsure which route fits your situation, speaking to someone who can look at the detail of your case is usually the fastest way to get clarity. The law described reflects the position following the reforms that came into force on 6 April 2026 and is subject to further change, particularly during the transition period running to 5 October 2026 — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position before relying on any figure, time limit or provider name in this guide.