CISAS
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, a dispute resolution service owned by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). IDRS is a corporate associate member of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association; see An ombudsman overview for an explanation of this.
By law, all telephone and internet service providers have to be a member of an independent ADR scheme approved by Ofcom, the industry regulator. There are two schemes that have been approved: CISAS (profiled on this page) and Ombudsman Services - Communications. 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
- Unless the company agrees that the dispute cannot be resolved, you have to wait for 8 weeks before applying to CISAS
- 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
- 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. 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 Ombudsman Services - Communications.
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 customer information section on the CISAS website 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.
In 2010, the largest category of complaints involved telephone charging (39%). One-fifth of complaints were about an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and nearly 18% were about telephone billing disputes. Other categories were loss of service (4%), terms and conditions (12%), disconnection/reconnection (3%) and customer service (2%).
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Cost
The scheme is free to consumers.
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Timescale
In 2010, 85% of complaints were decided within 6 weeks. A small percentage, 5%, took longer 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. CISAS rejects nearly half the complaints it receives because they have not yet been considered by the service provider.
- 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 8 weeks has passed and the complaint remains unresolved, you can go to CISAS with your complaint.
- If there is an urgent reason to take your complaint to CISAS before that time is up, then CISAS has discretion to consider it.
Complaints must go to CISAS within 9 months of first making a formal complaint to the company.
You can download an application form from the CISAS website, apply online, or phone their helpline on 020 7520 3814 for more information. 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
- You then have 6 weeks to decide whether to accept the adjudicator's decision
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Outcomes
If you decide to accept the adjudicator's decision, then the company has four weeks to do what the adjudicator requires. CISAS will check whether the company has complied.
If you do not accept, you are free to take your case to court.
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 (including VAT) - note that this includes any refunds or charges paid back to you as well as any goodwill payment
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.
In 2010, 46% of complaints settled before they went to an adjudicator. Of those that did not settle and were decided by an adjudicator, 61% were found in favour of the consumer.
The average claim in 2010 was £587, and the average award was £198.
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January 2012
