CISAS

2.Main Content

This page contains information about the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS), including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes

What it does
CISAS is a free, independent adjudication service to resolve disputes between consumers and telephone and internet service providers. It is administered independently of the providers by IDRS ltd, a dispute resolution service owned by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). IDRS is a corporate associate member of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association; see An ombudsmen overview for an explanation of this.

Under the Communications Act (section 54), all telephone and internet service providers have to be a member of an independent ADR scheme approved by Ofcom, in consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry. There are two schemes that have been approved: CISAS and Otelo. All telephone and internet service providers should be members of one of these two schemes. You can check members on the scheme websites. If you are in a dispute with your telephone or internet service provider, the company should tell you which scheme they use. If they are not members of either scheme, then you should tell Ofcom, who can take action against them.

This information applies in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
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Advantages

It is free
It is independent
It is relatively quick
There is no need to attend a hearing
The decision is binding on the company but if you are not happy you can decide to go to court
If you lose, you will not have to pay the other side's legal costs

Disadvantages

You have to try to resolve your dispute with the company first (it is the same for Otelo)
Unless the company agrees that the dispute cannot be resolved, you have to wait for three months before applying to CISAS (it is the same for Otelo)
It is up to you to compile evidence and submit it with the claim, although the adjudicator can investigate the problem, and can ask you for more information
You won’t get the costs of compiling and photocopying evidence back, even if you win (it is the same for Otelo)
Your complaint might not be investigated or upheld

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Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
The complaint must be about a company that is a member of CISAS. Currently CISAS members include Virgin Media, Orange, T-Mobile, Tiscali and others. A full list of members is available at CISAS. If your provider is not a member of CISAS, it is likely to be a member of Otelo.

The complaint must relate to the provision of mobile phone, fixed-line phone, or internet services, or to certain services like text messaging, voice mail, and services for people with disabilities.

CISAS only covers complaints relating to TV services for certain members, and does not cover the content of phone messages or websites, or complaints on the subject of 'business' decisions about whether to provide a service. Have a look at the CISAS ‘Information for customers’ guide for more details about what is and isn’t covered.

CISAS can consider complaints from residential customers and small business customers where the business has no more than ten employees.
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Cost
The scheme is free to consumers.
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Timescale
Over the first nine months of 2007, over 80% of complaints were decided within 6 weeks. 5% took more than 8 weeks.
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Procedure
You must try to resolve the dispute directly with your provider before making a complaint to CISAS.

If the company agrees that the dispute cannot be resolved, they will give you a reference number, called a ‘deadlock number’, and you can go straight to CISAS with the complaint.
If you have not resolved the complaint in three months, you can go to CISAS with your complaint anyway.
If there is an urgent reason to take your complaint to CISAS before the three months is up, then CISAS has discretion to consider it.

From 1st October 2007 CISAS changed their rules, so that they can accept complaints up to nine months after the first formal complaint was made to the company. This means that if you wait three months and fail to get a response, you will not be too late to make a complaint to CISAS (the time limit used to be three months).

You can download an application form from the CISAS website or phone their helpline on 020 7520 3827 to get an application form. If you like, CISAS will discuss your complaint on the phone, fill in the form for you, and send it to you to sign and return with copies of any letters, bills, or other evidence you have to support your claim.

Your complaint is then sent to the company for their response. They have 14 days to reply. A copy of their reply is then sent to you, and you have 7 days to comment on what they have said. At this stage, all the information is sent to an adjudicator, and CISAS will tell you who the adjudicator is. The adjudicator will let you and the company have a decision within 3 weeks, along with clear reasons why that decision was made.
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Outcomes
The adjudicator can tell the company to do any or all of the following:

Give you an apology or an explanation
Give you a product or a service
Take some practical action that will benefit you
Pay you up to £5,000 compensation (including VAT)

The adjudicator can also make recommendations to the provider to change their policies or procedures, which can benefit other customers.

Note that you must say on your application form how much compensation you want to claim. CISAS cannot advise you how much would be appropriate, but there are case studies on the CISAS website that will give you an idea of how much has been paid in similar cases.

If you agree a settlement with the company before the formal adjudication, the company normally has four weeks to comply with the terms you have agreed. CISAS will monitor this. If the company does not keep to the agreement, then CISAS will re-open the case and give the company seven days to respond.

If the adjudicator makes a formal decision, you have six weeks to decide whether or not to accept it. If you do accept it, then the company has four weeks to do what the adjudicator requires. CISAS will check whether the company has compied.

If you do not accept, you are free to take your case to court.
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Revised October 2007