Consumer Dispute Resolution Avaliações 168

Let me just start by saying that 93% is a very big number - 93 out of every 100 people who have used this service has found it "not fit for purpose" which is ironic as it is that same terminology which forms the basis of most claims against retailers. Only 2% of people have found the service satisfactory (literally two out of every 100 people - can the others all be wrong?) and what you will see if you read some of the reviews is CDR's 'copy and paste' replies feeding each and every consumer with more patronising nonsense.

I can only add to the other reviews, nearly all of which are negative (that must tell you something, surely?) The retailers who subscribe to this dispute resolution pay for this service and, as such, the outcomes are obviously balanced in favour of the retailer. To put it simply, can you approach with a well-organised case with clear and irrefutable facts to support, and they will always find in favour of the retailer. This process is further designed to discourage legitimate claimants from pursuing retailers through the courts where, most of the time, the outcome would be fair and justified.

My advice to you, if you are reading this prior to taking any action, is to simply avoid Consumer Dispute Resolution as you will waste so much of your time and resources as they place a very thick wall between you and the retailer - and the 'wall' protects the retailer, not you.

Either take whatever complaint you have on the chin, or otherwise take the retailer straight to court where your chances of success will be so much greater. Courts are not paid by the retailer and are therefore impartial and, if the Law supports your case, the outcome will be fair and appropriate if you go to Court rather than through the rather biased Consumer Dispute Resolution route.

CDR (Consumer Dispute Resolution) almost always find in favour of the retailer (who is paying them) - so your chances of success via this route are virtually zero. Someone really ought to put a stop to this utterly useless service unless they re-name it "Retailer Protection Service" - then the consumer will be able to make a more informed choice before wasting their time and energy on this pointless retailer-biased service.

I await the outcome of my complaint but so far I am unimpressed by CDRL. Their website is badly designed and difficult to use. Complex input is required which is not saved so one must complete a complaint in one session. This obvious feature is totally lacking and is a major shortcoming. The site also seems to be unstable.

*UPDATE: I received a trite and hollow 'defence' from CDLR (below) which makes no mention of the inconvenient truth that their 'adjudicators'' salaries are funded by the very companies they are supposed to provide independent judgements re. service failure complaints on behalf of the customer. This only further reinforces my strong belief that this outfit and its (partisan, imho) decisions should be scrutinised by a trustworthy independent body or investigative journalists!

Completely unfit for purpose: seems to me this is designed as a buffer or a front for the big companies - as other reviews here have stated, they always side with them; the procedure to make a complaint is so obviously flawed (and skewed against the consumer) and there appears to be no interest in evidence or the nuances of a respondent's case.

An Ombudsman is defined as "an independent, impartial official appointed to investigate and resolve complaints". CDRL fails on so many counts - and should be replaced with a proper body that represents the consumer and not the big companies it appears to defend.

Don't waste the ink on your laptop or phone, completely rubbish

Complete waste of time. No investigation, no review of any evidence, no request for further evidence. Just pick the side of the retailer and now I will have to take the company to court. Ikea kitchen installation still unfinished after 11 months. Has not been installed to plan and paid for items which are unused as they cannot be installed due to the incorrect fitting.

Absolutely awful service!!! Read all the reviews, they ALWAYS side with the big companies, no matter what!! British Gas have treated me terribly and damaged my property due to incompetence!! It 100% falls under the consumer rights act 2015 yet CDRL still sided with BG. They should be investigated as this is not right!! I provided all evidence, writing up every detail and BG gave a short and sweet response yet they still sided with them. Absolutely disgusting!!!!

Huge time wasters who promise satisfaction and deliver frustration. Calor Gas referred me to them (I now know why) after endless no reply, then demands for extensive additional information which all has to be converted to pdf, they say despite Calor stating in writing, as evidenced, they will abide by their decision, they state that Calor are no longer happy and they cannot make a decision. OK got it - if the complainant has a case then the defendant has the right to fail to respond and the case is dropped. So its a case of don't bite the hand that feeds you a total con and a waste of time?

Thank you for your reply - think I have got it - if your client - in this case Calor Gas has a strong csae you adjudicate - if they have no case you drop it - seems like you are flying under false colours and this is a case for advertising standards - stand by!

I spent a ton of time compiling evidence against Currys who had a subcontractor install our washing machine, and who did not check water was off and flooded my house. I provided photographs, call logs, timelines, and correspondence, all consistently showing the damage and that it was caused by their subcontractors, and that they were wilfully fobbing me off on the subcontractor, who just lied and said he hadn’t done it. Currys’ defence was one blurry photo of my washing machine, an incomplete call log, and a statement that they were satisfied they’d investigated (without providing any substantiating evidence of this) and that I couldn’t prove the damage was their fault. CDRL sided with the retailer. Completely pointless.

Dont bother taking the time, painstakingly raising a case. They are completely biased to currys. If your thinking of buying from currys do it through pay pal so you have some protection if currys make a mistake. As the customer service is appalling.

Reported OVO for failing to provide the boiler service that was part of our contract, despite chasing them several times and eventually getting radio silence from them.

As a result, I made a claim for compensation of the alternative boiler service I had to arrange to maintain our boiler warranty. The claim failed on the basis that the work was "not approved by the Respondent prior to the Claimant employing the third-party". Had I waited any longer for OVO's approval, the boiler warranty would have lapsed.

I would say the current 1.3-star rating on TrustPilot is well justified since you cannot rely on this service to resolve a dispute outside of court, as the service was intended to achieve.

What an absolute farce this arbitration service is. Not interested in providing any sort of justice for the consumer and only there to protect the big businesses that refer you to them.
Next stop is the small claims court for me as I am not letting this drop

After seeing the reviews here, am I surprised that CDRL sided with Currys, despite a clear breach of my consumer rights? Absolutely not.
Don't bother wasting your time appealing with them - they're clearly biased against the customer and will rule in favour of the retailer every time, it seems.

CDRL closed my case without giving me an adjudication outcome or even contacting me. I was assigned an adjudicator, and then silence until I checked the portal weeks later and found it marked "closed." No communication, no fair process.

Completely unacceptable.

Contacted these over a dispute with Ryanair ( booked to go to cyprus covid struck. Ryanairs web site said flights to cyprus suspended, cyprus wouldnt let brits in. All over the news and media. Ryanair said we were no shows)!
Took it to these , made a ruling , i sent 32 pages of evidence, i got a response couldnt open your evidence, ruled in favour of ryanair.Utter sham, unprofessional and biase

I ordered a PAX wardrobe from IKEA, and the experience was a nightmare. During delivery, their team damaged a newly replastered wall, and key parts were missing during installation. I had to drive to the store while the fitter waited, which caused extra charges and disrupted my work.

I spent weeks chasing IKEA through live chat, getting nowhere with endless reference numbers and no real progress. Eventually, I escalated to CDRL, not expecting much, but they were absolutely brilliant.

Within four weeks of raising the issue online, IKEA compensated me for the wall damage, paid the fitter’s invoice, and even added a bit more. CDRL exceeded all expectations — fast, professional, and effective.

I was genuinely impressed by how smoothly they handled everything after IKEA failed to act. If you're stuck dealing with a retailer that won’t take responsibility, I highly recommend going through CDRL. They turned a stressful situation into a proper resolution.

Found this "resolution"center through IKEA website and tried to settle the dispute, where IKEA took the in-warranty sofa that developed a sacking defect and refused to refund for it. Total waste of time like others have claimed, there're no resolution at all, no logic tied to consumer laws behind these decisions, they just ruled out that whatever company said is the correct course of action without taking into consideration the consumer rights

This "service" is a total waste of time. The portal is not fit for purpose. It is impossible to contact any human either by phone or email. The whole system is set up so that people with genuine complaints have no alternative but to give up trying to pursue them. Those managing this system should be totally ashamed of themselves.

This arbitration service is a complete disgrace. The process is rigged, biased, and designed to protect the company, not deliver justice. They put in people who have no real understanding of the law, no proper training, and no ability to run a fair hearing. It was obvious from the very start that the decision was going to go in the company’s favour, no matter what I said or what evidence I provided.

If you are reading this because you are about to go through arbitration: don’t. Save yourself the frustration, the wasted time, and the false hope. This system is not about fairness — it’s about power.

And to those who run this process: you may think you can keep hiding behind the word “neutral,” but you cannot escape accountability forever. Karma has a way of catching up.

I have raised numerous complaints and support tickets with CDRL regarding the service I've received from AviationADR.
CDRL refuse to acknowledge any of my complaints despite having been told for months that I'll be contacted within 30 days.
AviationADR have failed in their duty of fairly and fully adjudicating cases and CDRL are supposed to hold them to account but CDRL themselves are equally incompetent in dealing with service complaints.

Don't waste your time; you will submit all the evidence possible, and they will still side with the retailer.