The Bottom Line
- Enhanced Due Diligence: Businesses will gain access to unprecedented performance data (e.g., resolution times, success rates) on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers, enabling more informed and strategic choices for handling consumer disputes.
- Strategic Risk Insight: Publicly available reports will highlight systemic consumer complaint trends across industries, providing CEOs and legal teams with valuable data to proactively identify and mitigate compliance risks within their own operations.
- Compliance Check on Partners: Companies must ensure their current or prospective ADR providers are prepared to meet these new, detailed reporting standards to avoid any disruption to their out-of-court dispute resolution processes.
The Details
New regulations coming into force on 6th April 2026 under the landmark Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 will introduce significant transparency obligations for consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers in the UK. The ADR (Information) Regulations 2026 mandate that all accredited providers resolving disputes between consumers and traders will be required to collect and disclose extensive information about their operations. This applies to current providers and even to those who cease their accreditation, ensuring a continuous record of performance and accountability across the sector.
The core of the new regime is the requirement for a detailed annual report. Within one month of its accreditation anniversary, every provider must submit a comprehensive report to the designated ADR authority and, crucially, make it publicly available on their website. This is far from a simple box-ticking exercise. The report must include granular data on the number of cases received, accepted, and refused (with reasons); resolution outcomes (including how many were resolved in favour of the consumer or the trader); and the average time taken to resolve a case. This data will create a public league table of sorts, allowing businesses to benchmark the efficiency and fairness of different ADR schemes.
The policy objective behind these regulations is clear: to drive up standards in the ADR market through transparency. By making performance metrics public, the government is empowering businesses and consumers to choose providers based on proven effectiveness, not just marketing claims. Furthermore, the rules require providers to report on “recurring systemic or substantive issues” they observe leading to disputes. For business leaders and in-house counsel, this provides a powerful early-warning system, flagging common pitfalls and product or service issues within their market sector that could lead to widespread complaints, reputational damage, or regulatory scrutiny.
Source
UK Statutory Instruments
