Consumer Dispute Resolution Ltd

About us

CDRL is a not for profit Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider, founded in 2014.

We operate 5 independent ADR schemes in the Aviation, Retail, non-regulated Communications and Utilities sectors.

We’re not a watchdog or a regulator – our job is to resolve disputes between consumers and companies.

The People Behind CDRL

The Board of Directors

Sir Eric Peacock
Chairman

Christina Brooks
Non- executive

John Facenfield
Director of ADR

The ADR Officials

All of our ADR Officials are recruited on a permanent basis with no fixed term employment.

We have 30 ADR officials, which consist of 2 managers, 25 adjudicators and 3 arbitrators. All were appointed on a permanent basis after undergoing a rigorous interview process to check competency.

We also have a bank of part-time adjudicators who are deployed when needed.

Our service promise

Our aim is to resolve disputes fairly, reasonably, and quickly; and ultimately to reach the correct outcome in every case. When using our services, you can expect that we will:

Always be polite and courteous to you
Prioritise accessibility – whether this means providing information in different formats, font sizes, or anything else you might need to utilise our services fully
Review all information and evidence that you provide within the allocated submission timeframe
Use plain English in all of our communications, where possible
Finalise most cases within 60 days of establishing a Complete Complaint File – and will notify you of this date
Be fair to both parties throughout the procedure
Maintain impartiality at all times

Independence and Impartiality

Our independence and impartiality is at the heart of all that we do, as an Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme provider.

To protect this, we have the following strict rules in place, which are adhered to at all times across all of our schemes:

Neither CDRL, nor any employee, nor other individuals who work with CDRL (including complaint handlers, adjudicators, management team and the Independent Assessor) shall:
1) Hold shares in any airline, airport, retailer or trader that CDRL deals with
2) Receive any remuneration that is linked to the outcome of a case
Employees and other individuals who work with CDRL must declare any circumstances that give rise to a conflict of interest.
CDRL must treat both parties within a complaint equally and fairly.
CDRL must consider all information and evidence (provided on time) from both parties.
CDRL must not discriminate against any party.
CDRL must ensure that all outcomes are based on i) the law ii) what is fair and reasonable and iii) the balance of probabilities, giving full reasons for all decisions made.
CDRL must ensure that fees charged to airlines are not linked in any way to the outcome of cases.

Our board of directors, which includes independent directors, also maintain a watching brief over cases processed by CDRL by randomly checking case files.