Taking a complaint to an independent dispute resolution service should bring an end to the problem. But what happens when you win your case, return your faulty phone as instructed and the provider still fails to deliver the agreed remedy?
In this edition of Resolver Stories, Awosewa explains how she spent weeks chasing O2 after succeeding with a CISAS complaint. O2 has now cleared her remaining handset finance, agreed to refund the £305.56 she paid towards the phone and offered a further £250 for the way her case was handled.
This is Awosewa’s story…
I experienced persistent problems with a faulty iPhone 15 Pro Max for more than a year. After repeated complaints, an unsuccessful repair and O2 failing to provide an agreed replacement, I eventually took my case to CISAS. The adjudicator ruled in my favour and directed O2 to either replace the handset or refund the handset payments I had made and unwind the finance agreement. O2 chose to provide a replacement and confirmed this to me in writing.
I returned my phone as instructed, specifically because O2 had confirmed in writing that it would be replaced and O2 confirmed several times that it had received it on 28 August. But the replacement did not arrive.I followed the complaints process, went to independent ADR and won. I returned my phone because O2 agreed in writing to replace it, but I was still left without my own phone.
After spending around one or two hours almost every day contacting O2. I was repeatedly told that the replacement had been arranged or would arrive shortly. I received tracking information that did not work, was promised callbacks that never came and had to explain the case again and again.
O2’s original deadline for complying with the CISAS decision passed. I reported the problem, but even after an additional five working day period had expired, I still did not have the replacement.
An O2 complaints adviser eventually told me that, according to the information available, a replacement handset may never have been ordered. O2 later confirmed that the order on my account was actually a return order, not a replacement order, and that it could not identify any replacement order having been placed.
Neither the iPhone 15 Pro Max nor the iPhone 16 was available, so I was offered an iPhone 17, but only if I agreed to take out a new 24 or 36 month contract. I declined and asked for the available phone to be supplied as a substitute under the existing resolution, without tying me into another long-term agreement. I escalated the complaint in writing to O2’s Complaint Review Service and, following advice from Citizens Advice, gave the company a formal 14-day deadline to resolve the matter.
O2’s Executive Resolutions team steps in
O2’s Executive Resolutions team eventually became involved after a journalist contacted O2’s press office on my behalf. O2 acknowledged in writing that there had been several occasions when I was told a replacement had been arranged or would be sent shortly when that had not happened. It also accepted that I should not have had to spend further weeks chasing the remedy already agreed through CISAS.
Instead of supplying another phone, O2 has now cleared my remaining device finance balance to £0 and agreed to refund the £305.56 I paid towards the handset. The difference between this amount and the total contractual handset charges reflects credits O2 had previously applied to my account.
O2 initially offered me an additional £100 for its handling of the weeks following the CISAS decision. After the Executive Team’s review, this was increased to £250, which I accepted to bring the complaint to a close.
The immediate dispute is finally resolved, although it took more than three weeks beyond the CISAS compliance deadline and a significant amount of chasing to get here, and while the complaint and finance dispute have been brought to a close, I have been left without my own phone and without enough money from the refund to replace the handset I returned.
What to do when a provider fails to carry out an ADR decision
Awosewa had already followed the formal complaints process and obtained a decision through CISAS. Her experience shows why you should continue keeping detailed records even after winning your case.
If a provider fails to deliver the remedy set out in an ADR decision:
- Contact the ADR service promptly and report that the company has not complied.
- Keep the decision, acceptance confirmation and any stated compliance deadline.
- Save proof that you completed anything required of you, such as returning a handset.
- Ask the company to confirm its proposed remedy and timescale in writing.
- Keep copies of messages, tracking details and promises made during calls.
- Escalate the matter through the provider’s formal complaints or executive review process.
- Think carefully before accepting a “solution” that involves a new contract, additional borrowing or different terms.
- Set out clearly what remains unresolved and what you want the company to do.
For a communications complaint, you can usually approach an approved ADR scheme once you receive a deadlock letter or the provider has failed to resolve the complaint within six weeks. O2 currently uses CISAS, while other providers may use a different approved scheme.
You can also report the issue to Ofcom. Ofcom does not normally resolve individual complaints, but the information it receives can help it identify wider problems in the telecoms market. Where your complaint also involves a regulated handset finance agreement, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service whether the finance element falls within its remit. This will depend on the circumstances of your agreement and complaint.
You can use Resolver to organise your evidence, keep a record of your correspondence and manage your complaint in one place.
Persistence finally pays off
Awosewa did everything expected of her: she complained directly, took the case to independent ADR, succeeded and returned her handset as instructed. Yet she still had to spend weeks chasing an outcome that should already have been delivered.
Her persistence and detailed paper trail ultimately helped secure the cancellation of her remaining device finance, a £305.56 refund and an additional £250 payment. The outcome is a welcome one, but consumers should not have to fight a second complaint simply to make sure the resolution to the first one is carried out.
But her experience also highlights an important point: reaching the end of a complaint does not necessarily put you back in the position you were in before it began. Awosewa has brought the dispute with O2 to a close, but has been left without the phone she returned and says the refund is not enough to replace it.
It’s a reminder to keep pushing for clarity when a promised resolution isn’t carried out and to keep a record of everything along the way.
Share your Resolver Story
Have you used Resolver to tackle a complaint, get your money back or finally get a company to listen? We’d love to hear what happened. Your experience could help other consumers facing the same problem and show them what worked, as well as what to watch out for.