Ireland’s Communications Regulator Tightens Rules on Complaint Handling for Telecom & Internet Providers

Key Takeaways

• Stronger Standards: Ireland’s telecom regulator has overhauled the rules governing how internet and phone providers must handle complaints and disputes.
• Implementation Deadline: Providers must meet the new standards by March 2, 2026, though current obligations remain in effect until then.
• Customer Rights Protected: Clearer timelines, access to written records, and mandatory information about escalation routes are now required.
• Transparency Obligations: Codes of practice must include relevant details and outline available compensation schemes.
• Provider Accountability: Firms must retain complaint records and publish their codes of practice for public access.

Deep Dive

Ireland’s Commission for Communications Regulation, better known as ComReg, has moved to sharpen consumer protections by revising the minimum standards for how telecom and internet providers deal with complaints. The regulator said the goal is to remove the ambiguity that customers, both individuals and businesses, often face when raising issues with their providers.

The new framework gives consumers more certainty around response times and record-keeping, while forcing providers to tighten up their internal processes. Providers now have six months, until March 2, 2026, to bring their practices in line. Until then, existing obligations dating back to 2017 remain in force.

Under the revised rules, companies must adhere to transparent timelines when handling complaints and may no longer ignore initial contacts. Customers will also gain access to copies of complaints submitted electronically, along with durable records of key communications related to their case.

Providers must:

• Take action even if a complaint comes through a non-designated channel, such as general customer service lines.
• Issue a formal “Complaint Response” within ten working days of the issue first being raised, which must include information on a customer’s right to escalate disputes to ComReg.
• Keep their complaint handling codes of practice streamlined to relevant content and include details of any compensation schemes.

The decision also brings new requirements for record retention and compels providers to publish their codes of practice. For consumers, this should mean fewer dead ends and greater clarity on what to expect when service goes wrong. For providers, it means heightened accountability, with regulators demanding proof that complaints are handled fairly and transparently.

The development reflects a broader regulatory shift of service providers being held to more prescriptive standards, where consumer rights must be proactively protected rather than reactively defended.

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