Dispute Resolution & ADR
If something goes wrong, here is exactly how we put it right.
This page explains, in plain English, how OUTDOOR EXTENSION LEADS (operated by INDOOR & OUTDOOR FURNISHINGS LTD) handles complaints about any product we sell — Outdoor Extension Leads, Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads, Electrical Supplies or Sofas — and what independent help is available under UK law if we can't resolve things between us.
We would rather fix a problem than argue about it.
Whether you've ordered a made-to-length Outdoor Extension Lead, an Armoured Outdoor Extension Lead, an item from our Electrical Supplies range, or a Sofa, this page sets out exactly how we handle a complaint, how long each stage takes, and what independent options exist under UK law if we cannot agree a resolution together.
Most issues — a wrong cable length, a delayed delivery, a sofa arriving with a mark, a faulty socket — are resolved directly with our team within days, not weeks.
Nothing on this page limits or replaces your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. It sits alongside them, and explains the practical route to take if a disagreement needs to go further than our own team.
Every dispute starts the same way: contact us directly. Most complaints about our extension leads, electrical supplies or sofas are resolved at this stage.
Email info@outdoorextensionleads.co.uk, call +44 7427 230720, or use live chat on our website with your order number and a description of the issue.
We aim to acknowledge every complaint within 1 business day.
We review your order, correspondence and, where relevant, photos of the item — typically within 3–5 business days.
We respond with a resolution: repair, replacement, refund, price reduction, or an explanation of our position, usually within 10 business days of your first contact.
If your complaint concerns a faulty or damaged item, please keep the product, its packaging and any accessories until we've confirmed how to proceed — this helps us resolve things faster. Full return and refund mechanics are set out in our Return & Refund Policy.
Not satisfied with the first answer? Ask us to look again.
If you're not happy with the outcome from Step One, reply to the same email thread and ask for your complaint to be escalated. A senior member of our team, who was not involved in the original decision, will review the full case from scratch.
Email info@outdoorextensionleads.co.uk with the subject line "Escalation" plus your order number, and explain why the first outcome didn't resolve the issue.
We aim to provide a final written response within 14 calendar days of receiving your escalation.
Our final response sets out our position clearly and, where we are unable to resolve the dispute internally, confirms that you may now refer the matter to an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider — see Section 04.
If our internal process (Sections 02 and 03) does not resolve your complaint, UK law gives you the right to take the dispute to an independent, government-recognised Alternative Dispute Resolution provider instead of going straight to court.
ADR is a free or low-cost way of resolving a consumer dispute out of court, using an independent, impartial body rather than a judge. It is usually faster and less formal than legal action.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015, together with the consumer protection provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, govern how ADR operates for UK consumer purchases, alongside the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is the government-appointed body responsible for approving and overseeing ADR providers operating in unregulated retail sectors such as ours, currently overseeing more than 40 approved bodies across dozens of certified schemes.
Using ADR is entirely optional for both sides unless a trader has committed to a specific scheme in advance. We are not currently obliged to use ADR for every dispute, and we are transparent about this below — but we take that transparency seriously and will engage constructively wherever ADR could help.
We are not currently signed up as a formal member of a single named ADR scheme. Where our own complaints process reaches a final response and cannot resolve your dispute, we are willing, in good faith, to agree to use a CTSI-approved ADR provider appropriate to the product involved, as identified in Section 05, to try to reach a resolution.
Our four product ranges sit across furniture and general electrical retail. Both fall under CTSI's unregulated-sector oversight, so no single industry ombudsman is compulsory for us — but the same certified providers who handle furniture and home-improvement-related disputes are a sensible, relevant starting point.
Sofas
Furniture disputes in the UK are most commonly handled by The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman (FHIO), a not-for-profit organisation approved by CTSI under the ADR Regulations 2015. FHIO can be asked to consider disputes about upholstered furniture, provided you have already been through our own complaints process first. Details: fhio.org.
Outdoor Extension Leads, Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads & Electrical Supplies
These are consumer electrical goods rather than a regulated utility, so there is no single mandatory electrical-retail ombudsman. FHIO also accepts home-improvement and electrical-installation-related disputes and is an appropriate, currently active CTSI-approved provider for these product lines. Alternatively, you may raise a case with any other CTSI-approved general consumer ADR provider of your choosing — see the CTSI directory below.
Whichever provider you approach, they will confirm whether your dispute falls within their remit before opening a case, and can only proceed once you have first given us the opportunity to resolve the matter directly (Sections 02–03).
ADR is an additional option — it never replaces or reduces the legal rights below. You can choose to go to ADR, straight to court, or simply accept our resolution; the choice is always yours.
Consumer Rights Act 2015
Goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. You have a short-term right to reject faulty goods within 30 days of delivery for a full refund; between 30 days and six months, a repair or replacement is offered first, and a refund or price reduction follows if that doesn't fix it. This applies to every product we sell, including made-to-order extension leads.
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
For most online orders you have a 14-day right to cancel from delivery, plus a further 14 days to return the goods. Bespoke, made-to-order items — our Outdoor Extension Leads and Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads, cut and wired to your specified length — are excluded from this particular cancellation right under Regulation 28, unless the item is faulty. Full detail is in our Return & Refund Policy.
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
This Act strengthens UK consumer protection and enforcement, including rules on unfair commercial practices, fake reviews and drip pricing, and underpins the current ADR framework referenced in Section 04. We design our checkout, pricing and product listings to comply with it in full.
General Product Safety & sector-specific safety law
Our electrical products meet the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and BS 7671; our sofas meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended. A safety complaint is treated with the same urgency regardless of whether it also becomes a formal dispute.
Outdoor Extension Leads
Made to your specified cable length. Disputes about incorrect length selected at checkout are not treated as faults; disputes about a lead that arrives faulty, damaged, or the wrong length to what you ordered are treated as a fault claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 from day one.
Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads
Also cut and assembled to order. The same 30-day statutory fault standard applies. If a dispute concerns installation rather than the product itself, we will advise whether it should be raised with your installer or with us, and help you identify the right party.
Electrical Supplies
Stocked items — sockets, glands, junction boxes and plugs — carry the full 30-day return window in addition to fault rights. Disputes about compatibility with a third-party installation are assessed against the product specification shown on the listing at the time of purchase.
Sofas
Disputes about colour or fabric variance are assessed against the listing description and any samples confirmed before dispatch. Disputes about frame or filling defects are assessed under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended.
ADR is voluntary, and you're always free to pursue formal legal action instead — either from the outset or if ADR doesn't resolve things. Court structures and small-claims limits differ across the UK's nations, so we've set these out separately.
Claims are issued through the County Court, typically via Money Claim Online. The small claims track generally covers claims up to £10,000, keeping the process simple and largely without the need for a solicitor.
Consumer claims use the Simple Procedure in the Sheriff Court, generally for claims up to £5,000. It is designed to be used without legal representation, with guidance available from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.
Claims are made through the Small Claims Court, part of the County Court system, generally for amounts up to £3,000, with guidance available from the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service.
Wherever you're based, the substantive law protecting you — the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and UK GDPR — is the same. Only the court route and claim-value thresholds differ by nation.
Free, independent guidance before you start any claim is available from Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 (England & Wales consumer helpline) and via citizensadvice.org.uk, and from your local Trading Standards service, coordinated nationally by CTSI.
Your case details stay controlled and confidential.
Any information you give us while raising or escalating a complaint — order details, correspondence, photos of a product — is handled by INDOOR & OUTDOOR FURNISHINGS LTD as data controller, under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
We only use this information to investigate and resolve your complaint, and to meet our own legal and accounting obligations. If your dispute is referred to a CTSI-approved ADR provider or a court, we will share only the information reasonably needed for them to assess the case. We do not sell your personal data.
Read the full Privacy PolicyEngland & Wales law, UK-wide consumer protection.
Our Terms of Service, and any contract formed when you place an order with us, are governed by the law of England and Wales.
If you are a consumer resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland, this does not remove any mandatory consumer-protection rights you have under the law of the part of the UK in which you live, and you may still bring proceedings in your local courts as set out in Section 08. Full contractual terms are set out in our Terms of Service.
- Trading as
- OUTDOOR EXTENSION LEADS
- Registered as
- INDOOR & OUTDOOR FURNISHINGS LTD
- Company No.
- 16845629 (England & Wales)
- Registered office
- 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, England, EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom
Related policies referenced on this page:
Terms of Service
Legal Notice
Privacy Policy
Return & Refund Policy
Shipping Policy
Start with us first — most disputes end here.
Support hours (Greenwich Mean Time, London):
- Monday – Friday09:00 – 17:00
- Saturday10:00 – 16:00
- SundayClosed
Last updated / effective: 3 September 2026.