Pre-paid mobile phone service plans - Complaint handling problem

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Ofcom says that all telecoms service providers must have a code of practice that sets out the way they’ll handle complaints.

Your service provider should set out their terms and conditions online.

They should always follow their code of practice.

If you think you’ve been treated unfairly or in a way that goes against the code of practice, you should contact your service provider to tell them about the situation. They should work to find a resolution.

You should know

If you have an issue with your Pay As You Go Plan, use Resolver to raise a complaint with your service provider. If you remain unhappy, Resolver will help you to escalate your concerns to the relevant Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme - which will be either OSC (Ombudsman Services: Communications) or CISAS (Commications Industry Adjudication Service).

I received a huge phone bill after a holiday abroad

As of June 2017, data roaming charges within the EU have been dropped. The new rules mean network providers will charge the same rates for calls, texts, and data in the EU as they would in the UK.

However, UK network providers differ in the number of countries they will be applying the new rules to. Variations will also occur depending on whether customers are on pay-as-you-go or on contracts. Exceeding text, minute and data allowances will still be chargeable.

We advise travellers to double check the rules with their network providers before using their phone abroad.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

All telecommunications firms are requird to be a member of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme that has been approved by the regulator, OfCOM. Currently, OfCOM have approved two schemes - The Communications Ombudsman and CISAS (Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Service) - and all service providers must be a member of either of these two ADR schemes.

An ADR scheme can help when a dispute cannot be settled by a telecommunications company. The ADR process offers a quicker and cheaper way of resolving disputes than going via the courts. Once the internal complaint process is exhausted, businesses must give the consumer details of an approved ADR provider and tell the consumer if it is willing to use them.

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