Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Alternative Dispute Resolution) (Information) Regulations 2026.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 6th April 2026.

(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations—

“ the Act ” means the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ;

“ the ADR authority ” means—

“ durable medium ” means paper or email, or any other medium that—

Accredited ADR providers

3.—(1) An accredited ADR provider(2) must, within a month of the first anniversary of the date on which accreditation takes effect and within a month of each subsequent anniversary, provide a report relating to the preceding year which contains the information in Part 1 of the Schedule.

(2) The information in the report must be provided in relation to—

(a)the accredited ADR provider; and

(b)any other ADR provider(3) with whom the accredited ADR provider makes special ADR arrangements(4).

(3) The report must be provided to—

(a)the ADR authority in writing on a durable medium; and

(b)consumers by publishing it on the accredited ADR provider’s website, if any.

(4) An accredited ADR provider must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, provide the information set out in Part 2 of the Schedule to the extent it differs from the information provided as part of the application for accreditation under section 296 of the Act or under this regulation.

(5) The information must be provided in relation to—

(a)the accredited ADR provider; and

(b)any other ADR provider with whom the accredited ADR provider makes special ADR arrangements.

(6) The information must be provided to the ADR authority in writing on a durable medium.

Former accredited ADR providers

4. —(1) A person who has been, but is no longer, an accredited ADR provider and who is not an exempt ADR provider( 5 ) (a “former accredited ADR provider”), must, within a month of the date on which the accreditation ceases to be in force, provide a report which contains the information in Part 1 of the Schedule.

(2) The information in the report must be provided in relation to—

(a)the former accredited ADR provider; and

(b)any ADR provider with whom the former accredited ADR provider made special ADR arrangements.

(3) The information in the report must relate to the period—

(a)from the end of any preceding report up to the date on which the accreditation ceases to be in force; or

(b)if there is no preceding report, from the date on which accreditation takes effect up to the date on which the accreditation ceases to be in force.

(4) The report must be provided to—

(a)the ADR authority in writing on a durable medium; and

(b)consumers by publishing it on the former accredited ADR provider’s website, if any.

Exempt ADR providers

5.—(1) Exempt ADR providers must provide the information in Parts 1 and 2 of the Schedule to the ADR authority to the extent such information—

(a)is also provided to a regulator; and

(b)relates to consumer contract disputes(6).

(2) The information must be provided in relation to—

(a)the exempt ADR provider; and

(b)any person with whom the exempt ADR provider made special ADR arrangements.

(3) The information must be provided—

(a)in the manner in which it is provided to the regulator; and

(b)within a month of it being provided to the regulator.

(4) In this regulation—

“ regulator ” means a person who has responsibility for, or oversight of, an area of activity by virtue of any legislation.

Regulations 3 to 5

Schedule Information

Part 1 Reporting requirements

1. The information required by regulations 3(1), 4(1) and 5(1) is—

(a)the number of requests for ADR(7) received;

(b)the number and percentage of such requests that were—

(i)accepted for ADR resolution;

(ii)not accepted for ADR resolution and the grounds for refusal;

(iii)resolved through ADR;

(iv)discontinued before ADR resolution was reached and, if known, the reasons for the discontinuation;

(v)resolved in favour of the consumer; and

(vi)resolved in favour of the trader;

(c)the number and percentage of requests for ADR categorised according to—

(i)the legislation alleged to have been breached; and

(ii)the type of complaint;

(d)the number and percentage of requests accepted for ADR resolution categorised according to the kind of ADR carried out;

(e)the average time taken to resolve consumer contract disputes calculated—

(i)from the date the ADR request was made to the information provider to the date of resolution; and

(ii)from the date the request was accepted for ADR resolution to the date of resolution;

(f)where known, the rate of compliance with the outcomes of ADR or any other actions agreed before ADR resolution was reached;

(g)where the information provider has made special ADR arrangements—

(i)the type of ADR conducted under such arrangements; and

(ii)the number of ADR providers engaged;

(h)based on the information provider’s experience—

(i)a description of any recurring systemic or substantive issues that commonly cause disputes between consumers and traders; and

(ii)any recommendations for avoiding or resolving such issues in the future;

(i)an assessment of the effectiveness of the ADR offered and any suggestions for improvements;

(j)any information on trader and consumer confidence in, and satisfaction with—

(i)the information provider; and

(ii)any ADR providers engaged under special ADR arrangements;

(k)information on any training provided to persons engaged by the information provider to carry out ADR; and

(l)any other information that the information provider considers relevant.

2. In this Part of this Schedule—

“ information provider ” means—

Part 2 Information updates

3. The information required by regulations 3(4) and 5(1) is—

(a)the name, contact details and website address of the ADR provider;

(b)the kinds of ADR carried out, including the possible outcomes of each kind;

(c)the types of consumer contract disputes the ADR provider deals with;

(d)the sectors and categories of consumer contract disputes covered by the ADR provider;

(e)the procedures, rules, requirements or practices relating to the carrying out of ADR, including—

(i)any time limits for referring disputes for ADR;

(ii)any conditions or other requirements to be met by either (or both) of the parties before, or while, ADR is being carried out; and

(iii)whether ADR can be conducted orally or in writing;

(f)the fees or costs payable by either party to a consumer contract dispute that is referred for ADR;

(g)the language in which consumer contract disputes can be submitted to the ADR provider and in which ADR can be carried out;

(h)whether the outcome of ADR is binding;

(i)the grounds on which the ADR provider may refuse to deal with a given consumer contract dispute; and

(j)the process for handling complaints.