Communications Ombudsman Reviews 935

The gentleman who helped me, Matthew Kilvington, was very helpful, understanding, prompt and professional. He helped me resolve this very difficult matter and avoid me being ripped off by a unethical phone company. Its an excellent free service and I highly recommend using this if you are having problems with a phone company.

Detailed my complaint, BT tried to increase my monthly payments by 50% as the annual price rise! They then told me to renew before increase was due even though I told them I was still in contract, I was then told by their complaints people that I couldn't renew as I was still in contract and the price rise was a typo and should only be 25%. The Ombudsman process was explained clearly, timely updates and finally a resolution which will be acceptable once BT have implemented the resolution.

I found the experience absolutely outstanding. As soon as I submitted my claim BT made a reasonable offer which I accepted. Denise the representative of the Ombudsman service was outstanding.

Very poor service no impartiality and clearly out of touch with the value and cost if an individuals time where rewards if made don’t take into account of the many hours of work that a claimant has invested before and during the case being considered which equates to well below even the minimum wage - generally biased decisions made from my experience in many different cases brought and an organisation that needs careful scrutiny and review

Disappointing experience

My experience with the Communications Ombudsman was disappointing. While the service is intended to provide an alternative to court proceedings, I found the process lengthy, procedural and ultimately of limited value in resolving my concerns.

Although the issues raised were considered, I did not feel that the outcome adequately reflected the circumstances or impact of the complaint. Once a decision had been reached, there appeared to be very limited scope to challenge or meaningfully review the outcome, which was frustrating.

Consumers should be aware that an Ombudsman decision is not binding on them unless they choose to accept it. If you strongly disagree with the outcome, it may be worth considering whether other routes, including the court process where appropriate, are better suited to resolving the dispute.

Based on my experience, I did not find the process particularly effective and would encourage consumers to understand all available options before deciding how to pursue a complaint.

My experience with ROY at the Ombudsman service has been nothing short of useless. After months of dealing with EE’s mistakes, I finally turned to the Ombudsman expecting an independent review. Instead, I received a message so lazy and unprofessional it honestly looked like it was written without even reading my case.

The person (ROY)handling my complaint didn’t address me by name, didn’t acknowledge a single piece of evidence I submitted, and didn’t show any sign that they had actually reviewed anything. They simply sent a copy‑and‑paste message saying my case was closed because of a “break in communication” and an “old referral letter.” That was it. No explanation, no effort, no investigation.

And here’s the part people need to understand:
The Ombudsman only charges a business a fee if they actually investigate a case.
If they close it early, they don’t have to do the work and they don’t have to charge the company. So when they shut down a complaint with a template message, it’s not hard to see why. It’s quicker, easier, and keeps their statistics looking clean.

So no — EE doesn’t “pay” them directly.
But the system is set up in a way where closing cases fast benefits everyone except the consumer.

That’s exactly what happened to me. Instead of helping, they took the quickest route to get rid of the complaint. It felt dismissive, unprofessional, and completely pointless. If this is the level of service people get when they’re already struggling with a company, I genuinely worry for anyone who relies on this organisation — especially vulnerable customers who can’t fight back.

The Ombudsman is supposed to protect consumers. Based on my experience, it feels more like a box‑ticking exercise designed to move cases out of the way as fast as possible.

I am submitting this following a catastrophic breakdown of professional standards and an admitted failure of the investigation process.

Admitted Negligence (Kathryn A): On 07/04/2026, the Dispute Resolution Coach, Kathryn A, admitted in writing: "While I have not reviewed any primary evidence, my understanding of the situation is..." This is a prima facie admission that a Final Decision was issued without reviewing the call recordings or the case file evidence.

Administrative Error: In her decision, Ms. Kathryn A claimed she had "not identified" any statement from EE saying they lacked the original contract. This is factually incorrect; the case file contains two explicit admissions from EE stating they do not possess it. This proves the file was not read.

Contradictory Record-Keeping: After being challenged on her admission, Ms. Kathryn A issued a contradictory statement on 08/04/2026 claiming she had reviewed the evidence. This inconsistency demonstrates a total lack of professional integrity and a failure to maintain a transparent audit trail.

Obstruction of Oversight (Michael B): The Service Improvement Lead, Michael B, has actively obstructed my access to the Independent Assessor. He has attempted to redefine "primary evidence" to cover the Reviewer’s error and is gatekeeping the service complaint process to prevent external scrutiny of this documented failure.

Conclusion: The Ombudsman’s "foundational requirement" to be evidence-led has been abandoned. This case represents a systemic failure of Alternative Dispute Resolution transparency and has been escalated to the Trust Alliance Group executive board and OFCOM.

UPDATE (17/04/26): The company’s reply below is demonstrably false. I have a written email from the Dispute Resolution Coach (Ms Kathryn A) dated 07/04/26 explicitly admitting: "While I have not reviewed any primary evidence, my understanding of the situation is..." To claim they "take great care" and "all evidence is considered" while holding a written admission that they bypassed the evidence is a total failure of integrity. This documented contradiction has been reported to Ofcom and the Ombudsman Association.

Lewiss actively listened to my complaint, discussed options and what the maximum I would gain from the complaint if it was upheld.
Regular updates throughout the process and it was really good to have someone independent to talk to, who understood my situation but spoke with an unbiased as they fact founded from both sides of the complaint.

Waste of tax payers money. They work in cohorts with supplier. Case handler have poor investigation skills.

Do not rely on the services of the Ombudsman. They side with companies and just pretend to investigate. Even if they issue a decision following your complaint, the company is obliged to comply with that decision. However, if a company does not comply with the decision and you contact the Ombudsman again about it, the Ombudsman later does not respond at all. Therefore, they are useless and never really help.
If you have clear evidence against a company (in my case, EE), go directly to a tribunal and do not accept the Ombudsman’s decision.

They gave me an answer very quickly and pointed out the likely outcome.

Case successfully concluded in under 2 months by Catherine Whyte, who kept us informed throughout. Many thanks! - The case itself: BT Business continuation of billing despite termination of contract; accumulation of debt by the same through incorrect billing and attempted enforcement through their debt collectors, MIL Collections, despite case being handled by Ombudsman.

Overall a good experience start to finish, did i get a 10 grand payout? No, did I get multiple people disciplined or sacked, No, or did I get a personal apology delivered in person from the CEO, sadly No

What I did get was exactly what they said they would do which was contact the company, explain my issues, and get a solution, all I had to do was provide information within a time frame, simple, easy, and free

To all you “One Star” reviewers looking for some sort of lottery size win if your grievance is that bad why not take the company to the small claims court yourself, however please be aware this would cost YOU money!

Funny how it’s everyone else’s fault when complainants don’t get what they expect.

Excellent FREE service keep up the good work

The Comms Ombudsman has no real powers and complaining to them is a total waste of time.

Appalling. They promise a lot but deliver nothing worthwhile. They wouldn’t wait for the repeatedly requested data from the phone company and made a decision without being in receipt of them.
This means that ID mobile got away with sending text messages which were pure lies, they failed to record countless numbers of complaints I made via their vulnerable client lines. These dreadfully sharp practices can and will have dreadful effects on elderly and vulnerable people. This body coukd have taken IDmobile to task over these instead they fined them £50.

This ombudsman at best is not fit for purpose - worst case they’re in the pocket of the mobile phone companies…. They had a clear and fact ridden case to work on but instead they wouldn’t wait for the call transcripts and awarded me £50.

That amount is an insult. I’ve wasted hours of my life I’ll never get back. In my opinion this ombudsman is neither helpful, caring or just.

Complete waste of time. Ignored what I was told, I even had screenshots of my conversation with EE confirming the price for 24m, but still took their side. There was an immediate increase in price due to annual increases which I was not told about when I asked for price. So unfair.

Advisor Lewis contacted me, within 24 hours of the submission on the website and fully explained the process.

Surprisingly, the Ombudsman didn't have to proceed with the complaint, as having their intervention resulted in an offer from Three's Customer Solutions, within 2 days, acknowledging the extremely poor service and shortfalls experienced, from their Bereavement department, and importantly apologising, advising these issues would be addressed, and the assurance that they would make sure in the future no other grieving relative would go through the same. They recognised they had no way of putting a monetary value on what I had gone through, but offered £50 compensation, which I accepted, as it was more important to me that they acknowledged the failings, and others in the same situation did not receive the same poor treatment and service, at such a sensitive time.

A good outcome, especially as Three's Executive Office had declined to uphold or take on the complaint, insisting that they had done nothing wrong.

One thing to mention, I believe what helped this be a smooth process, was a good summary, timeline and evidence list.

Took Plusnet to the Communication Ombudsman after 3 months of dealing with 23+ different people, was provided with inaccurate information and given exaggerated stories by them all due to a switch from FFTC to FFTP.
All the Communication Ombudsman did was to tell me that Plusnet had handled my complaint properly and fairly. No mention of the stress caused, the time wasted and at times total inaccurate and dubious information supplied by Plusnet. I was awarded two months line rental which has been acknowledged by Plusnet but not paid yet.
In conclusion I wish I had not bothered to contact the Communications Ombudsman as I wasted time preparing my case and posting a large file case. I feel the Communication Ombudsman is a Tiger with no teeth.

Wish I had not have bothered to contact them or wasted several hours preparing and sharing information.

Apparently EE not addressing or even mentioning any of my complaints, and not being able to provide call recordings is all OK, as they just sent a letter referencing my Ombudsman Referral rights.

To the Ombudsman, that meant EE had handled my complaint properly and fairly. Strangely they did not consider EE's inability to provide call recordings in anyway 'odd'

They'll post the same generic response to this as they do to all other reviews. I rated 2 stars as the people I dealt with were at least courteous - unlike EE

Dont listen to your complaint and simply represent the supplier each time