Otelo

2.Main Content

This page contains information about the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo), including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes

What it does
The Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) is a free, independent ombudsman service to resolve disputes between consumers and some telephone and internet service providers in the UK.

Under the Communications Act (section 54), all telephone and internet service providers are required to offer an independent ADR procedure. These procedures must be approved by the regulator, Ofcom, in consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry. There are two schemes that have been approved by Ofcom: Otelo and CISAS. All telephone and internet service providers should be members of one of these two schemes. You can check their 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 one of these two schemes, you should report them to Ofcom, who can take action against them.

Otelo is also a member of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association and meets its membership criteria.

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

Disadvantages

You have to try to resolve your dispute with the company first (same for CISAS)
Unless the company agrees that the dispute cannot be resolved, you have to wait for three months before applying to Otelo (same for CISAS)
You won't get the costs of compiling and photocopying evidence back, even if you win (same for CISAS)
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 Otelo. Currently Otelo's members include British Telecom, Vodafone, O2 and others. They represent about 95% of the fixed-line market, 50% of the mobile market, and 35% of the internet service market. A full list of members is available on the Otelo website.

Otelo can consider complaints from residential customers and from small business customers whose annual spend on telecommunications is £5,000 or less.

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. Among the types of complaints that Otelo deals with are those about:

accounts and billing
customer service
supply and disconnections
repairs
privacy

Otelo cannot deal with complaints about content provided via mobile phones or the internet.
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Cost
The scheme is free to consumers.

Legal representation is not necessary. Help is available from Otelo staff for completing the complaint form, which can be done by telephone.
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Timescale
The process should be completed within six weeks.
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Procedure
The consumer must first have used the company's internal complaints procedure and reached deadlock - in other words, they should have received the company's final position or offer. If they remain dissatisfied with the company's response, they can approach the ombudsman. If they haven't heard from the company within twelve weeks of complaining, they can also go to the ombudsman.

Otelo sends the complaint to the service provider and asks for their response. Sometimes a mutually agreed resolution is reached through assisted negotiation by Otelo staff. If necessary, an investigation is carried out.
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Outcomes
Companies that are members of the scheme agree to be bound by decisions of the ombudsman, who can order them to:

offer an apology or explanation
provide a product or service
give compensation of up to £5000 (including VAT)

However, it should be noted that the vast majority of financial awards are only for a small amount. During 2005-06, for example, in around 30% of cases no action was required, or a non-financial benefit was recommended. In 35% of cases the award was less than £50. In a further 30% of cases the award was less than £200.

The ombudsman can also ask the provider to change their policies or procedures, which can benefit other customers.

Decisions are binding on the company but not on the consumer. Complainants do not have to accept the decision and have the option to take the complaint to court.
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Updated October 2006