Telecoms ombudsman: escalate after 6 weeks, not 8

If you have been told to wait 8 weeks before taking a broadband or mobile complaint to the ombudsman, that advice is out of date. Since 8 April 2026 the wait is 6 weeks. Two weeks doesn't sound like much until you're the one sitting on a dead line while a provider keeps saying it's "still investigating".

What changed, and why

Ofcom decided on 8 July 2025 to cut the threshold for reaching alternative dispute resolution (ADR) from 8 weeks to 6. The change took effect on 8 April 2026. ADR is the free, independent escalation route that every UK telecoms provider is required to offer you.

Ofcom's reasoning was blunt. It looked at roughly 700,000 consumers whose complaint was still open at the 6-week mark under the old rules, and found only about 19% had it resolved or referred onwards before the old 8-week gate opened. Four in five people were just waiting, with nothing happening. So Ofcom moved the gate.

One honest caveat: the 6-week clock applies to complaints raised on or after 8 April 2026. If yours started before that date it may still be running on the old 8-week clock. If your complaint straddles the date, ask your provider and the ADR scheme which applies rather than assuming. Better to check than to turn up two weeks early and be turned away.

Who you actually escalate to, and it isn't Ofcom

This one costs people weeks. Ofcom does not resolve individual complaints. It writes the rules, publishes the data and enforces against providers, but it will not get your line fixed or your bill refunded.

Every UK provider has to belong to one of two approved ADR schemes:

• The Communications Ombudsman (run by Ombudsman Services) covers EE, BT and Plusnet, among others
• CISAS covers Virgin Media and others

Not sure which one has your provider? The ombudsman finder matches you to the right scheme, and our Communications Ombudsman guide walks the whole route from first letter to decision.

A deadlock letter skips the wait entirely

You don't always have to sit out the 6 weeks. If your provider issues a deadlock letter, meaning it has finished investigating and this is its final answer, you can go to the ombudsman immediately. Ask for one in writing once you've clearly hit a wall. Some providers hand them over readily, and a flat refusal to issue one is itself worth mentioning when you open your ADR case.

Either way, track your own clock. Our response deadline calculator gives you the exact date you're free to escalate, so you're not guessing.

Automatic compensation is separate money

Don't confuse the two. Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme pays out without you having to argue your case: £9.33 a day for total loss of service beyond 2 working days, £5.69 a day for delayed repairs, and £30.49 for a missed engineer appointment. That comes from your provider as a contractual entitlement, not from the ombudsman. You can chase both.

Complaints are down, which cuts both ways

Ofcom's Q1 2026 figures, published on 23 July 2026, put broadband complaints at a record low of 6 per 100,000 customers. TalkTalk was the highest at 10, Plusnet the lowest at 4. Genuinely good news for the sector, and also useful to you: if your provider sits at the top of that table, it's the regulator's own data saying so, not your opinion.

Start the clock properly

The 6 weeks only begins once you've made a proper complaint in writing that the provider logs as a complaint. A live chat where you asked "any update?" doesn't count, and providers are not going to correct you on that.

Our broadband complaint tool walks you through it, or NoReply drafts the formal complaint with your provider's ADR scheme named and the right dates in it. They were counting on you giving up somewhere around week 4. Don't.