After you apply for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

A copy of your application and evidence will be sent to the business. The business will have 7 days from when they receive your application to submit their evidence. Paper applications will take longer to process than online applications. Cases referred to us by trade associations, or similar organisations, will take longer to process.

Both parties will both see the evidence supplied by the other and will be given the opportunity to comment on it and provide further evidence in relation to it.

We will notify both parties when all the evidence has been received and the case has been referred to an adjudicator. We will make our decision and communicate it to both parties within 28 days of that adjudicator receiving the evidence. If the case is so complex that it will take longer than 28 days, we will notify both parties and provide an estimated time frame for our work.

We will consider all of the evidence and reach a conclusion based on the principles of fairness, equity, relevant law and trade standards. Our decision will be based on the written evidence alone. We won't ask either party to give spoken evidence and we won't follow up with witnesses. We will make an adjudication solely on the evidence and award financial recompense if appropriate.

The onus is on both parties to be clear, transparent and honest. Where there is evidence of dishonesty by either party then this may be taken into account by the adjudicator and the matter may be reported to the police.

We will produce a written report and conclusion.

• If you applied online we will send a link to your report by email.
• If you applied by post, but correspondence between us is carried out by email, then we will send the report link by email.
• If you applied by post and have communicated with us only by post, we will send the report by post.

If we find in your favour we may include costs you have incurred in securing evidence in any financial award. It is important that you set out and justify these costs when you apply.

If we find in your favour, but the adjudicator does not feel there is sufficient evidence to make a financial award, you cannot then submit further evidence. If this happens, your only recourse is through the courts.

The outcome is not binding on you as a consumer. The outcome is binding on the business only if there is a legal requirement for them to be bound or if it is a condition of their membership of a trade association or similar body that they agree to be bound.

Should either party not accept our decision and the matter ends up before a court, the court may take into account our findings in reaching their conclusions.

Either party may withdraw from the process at any time. Only businesses that have a legal duty to participate as a condition of their membership of a trade association or similar body cannot withdraw.

Your personal information

For the purposes of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Scheme you will need to give us your name, address, phone number and email address on the application form.

We will keep your personal details on our secure database and at this stage we will only share them with the business you are in dispute with. We will delete your application, including your personal details, from our database if we do not receive the fee from you and/or the business.

If payment is received from you and the business, we will share your application with the adjudicator to make a decision. Outside of the ADR scheme we will only show your application to bodies responsible for auditing the scheme for the purposes of the accreditation. Your application, including the adjudicator’s decision, will be kept on our secure database for 6 years before being deleted.