From 6 April 2026, the UK’s consumer alternative dispute resolution framework shifts to Chapter 4 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 are revoked, and a consequential amendments instrument updates primary and secondary legislation to reflect the new regime. (legislation.gov.uk)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Alternative Dispute Resolution) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 were laid on 26 January 2026 and take effect on 6 April 2026. They are drafted under section 336 of the 2024 Act and make targeted amendments only. (statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk)
Consumer Rights Act 2015. Paragraph 20A of Schedule 5 (investigatory powers) is amended to remove the reference to regulation 19(1) and (2) of the 2015 ADR Regulations. In practice, this cleans the list of ‘relevant infringements’ so enforcers rely on the DMCC’s ADR chapter rather than the repealed 2015 regime. (commonsbusiness.parliament.uk)
Energy Act 2023. Section 218 (ADR for consumer disputes) is omitted. That section had enabled the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland to designate its heat networks regulator as a competent authority under the 2015 ADR framework; with the DMCC moving away from the ‘competent authority’ model, the provision is redundant. (commonsbusiness.parliament.uk)
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Part 1 of Schedule 15 (consumer protection enactments) is updated to remove the 2015 ADR Regulations from the court‑based enforcement list, ensuring enforcement tracks only in‑force enactments under the new ADR chapter. (commonsbusiness.parliament.uk)
Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Paragraph 7 of Schedule 5 (information to be provided in the package travel contract) now points to Chapter 4 of Part 4 of the DMCC Act instead of the 2015 ADR Regulations. Travel organisers should ensure contract information and complaints literature reference the DMCC basis from April. (commonsbusiness.parliament.uk)
FSMA 2000 (Claims Management Activity) Order 2018. Article 71(7) is amended to add a point‑in‑time reference-‘as it was in force on 1 April 2019’-after the citation of paragraph 13 of Schedule 3 to the 2015 ADR Regulations. This fixes the Financial Ombudsman Service’s transitional grounds for refusing to deal with a dispute to the rules that applied when claims management regulation moved in 2019. (commonsbusiness.parliament.uk)
Operational delivery. Alongside these consequential changes, the Government has confirmed that the DMCC’s ADR chapter introduces a mandatory accreditation framework for consumer ADR and confers delivery functions for non‑regulated sectors on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, including accreditation, monitoring and reporting. These measures are intended to drive consistent quality and oversight. (hansard.parliament.uk)
Implications for organisations by 6 April 2026 are mainly housekeeping. Traders that reference the 2015 ADR Regulations in consumer‑facing materials should update terms, websites and complaints information to cite the DMCC ADR chapter. Package organisers should refresh contract templates accordingly. Regulated sectors with statutory ombudsmen or equivalent schemes remain under their existing arrangements. The Department for Business and Trade describes the instrument as consequential and not imposing new regulatory obligations. (hansard.parliament.uk)