How to complain about your broadband — and take it further if they ignore you
If your provider keeps saying they'll call back and never do, you are not stuck. There is a proper path, it is free, and it ends with someone independent who can make them act.
1. Report it and get a reference
Ring, chat or message your provider and make sure you come away with a case reference. Write down the date. From here on, keep everything in writing if you can — chat transcripts and emails are what count later.
2. Say the words “formal complaint”
This matters more than anything else on this page. A fault report is not a complaint. Ask them to log a formal complaint and give you a complaint reference. That is the day the clock starts.
3. Give them 6 weeks
Ofcom's rules changed on 8 April 2026: if your complaint is still unresolved after 6 weeks (it used to be eight), you can take it to a free independent adjudicator. Keep chasing in writing during those weeks — every reply is evidence.
4. Or ask for a deadlock letter
If they tell you they have done all they can and you are still unhappy, ask for a deadlock letter. That letter lets you go to the adjudicator straight away — you do not have to wait out the six weeks.
5. Go to the adjudicator
Every UK provider must belong to one of two Ofcom-approved schemes: the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS. It costs you nothing. They look at both sides, and their decision is binding on the provider but not on you — if you don't like it, you can still go elsewhere.
Copy this complaint and fill in the gaps
Everything in square brackets is yours to change. Send it by email, or paste it into your provider's complaint form or chat.
If you start a case with us, we write the complaint using your own dates, speeds and evidence, keep track of the six weeks, and tell you the day you can go to the adjudicator.
Where to send a complaint
BT
Email: consumer-resolutionteam@bt.com
Open BT complaintsEE
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open EE complaintsPlusnet
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open Plusnet complaintsSky
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open Sky complaintsTalkTalk
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open TalkTalk complaintsVirgin Media
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open Virgin Media complaintsVodafone
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open Vodafone complaintsZen Internet
No public complaints email — use their form, chat or phone line.
Open Zen complaints
The free adjudicators
- Ofcom — how to complain and use ADR
Ofcom's own guide, including how to check which scheme your provider belongs to.
- Communications Ombudsman — check your provider
One of the two Ofcom-approved schemes. Search your provider to see if they're a member.
- CISAS — Ofcom-approved scheme
The other approved scheme. Your provider belongs to one or the other — both are free to you.
You may also be owed money automatically when your broadband is down, an engineer misses an appointment, or a start date slips — Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme covers most big providers. Read Ofcom's guide.
WiFiXpert is independent and is not your broadband provider. We never contact your provider pretending to be you — we write the words and you send them.