Complain like an adult

British broadband complaints fail in two opposite ways: too little paper, and too much feeling. The provider’s system wants a reference, a timeline, and a request. The customer wants to be believed. You can have both, if the email is short and dated.

When to escalate

If they deadlock, or the complaints clock runs out, take it to the ADR scheme named in their code of practice. Do not copy Ofcom on every extra. Do not copy us. We will not intervene in a contract we are not party to, and pretending otherwise would be a different kind of dishonesty.

Evidence that actually moves a case

• Account number and the address as billed.
• Fault and appointment references.
• Switching information if the cease went wrong.
• A one-page timeline. Not a novella.
• The outcome you want, in one sentence.

Speed-test screenshots help only if you have also tested wired, at more than one hour, and the complaint is about the line. They do not help a Wi-Fi argument. They do not help a bill argument about a security suite.

ADR is a process, not a weapon

When the provider deadlocks or the clock runs out, the scheme named in their complaints code can take it. Send them the same short pack. Do not add Ofcom, your MP and a comparison editor to the CC line. We are not a party to the contract. Pretending otherwise would be a different kind of dishonesty.

The four-minute pack

Ombudsmen read timelines. One page of dated bullets, the pounds you want, the PDFs. Not a novel about April. Start the provider complaint in email so the eight-week clock is real. Deadlock or eight weeks, then file. A 4G backup carries Tuesday while the pack carries March.