ProMediate to Cease Operating as a CTSI Accredited ADR Provider from 5 July 2026
It is with considerable disappointment that ProMediate (UK) Limited announces that it will cease operating as a CTSI-accredited Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider with effect from 5 July 2026.
This decision has not been taken lightly.
Since its establishment, ProMediate has sought to provide a practical, proportionate and accessible ADR service, assisting parties in resolving disputes without the need for lengthy and expensive court proceedings. The aim has always been to provide a fair, efficient and commercially realistic process for both consumers and businesses.
Unfortunately, the new ADR regime introduced under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has fundamentally altered the regulatory and financial landscape for smaller ADR providers.
The new framework, which came into force on 6 April 2026, introduces extensive additional compliance obligations, including:
- mandatory “scheme rules” documentation;
- significantly expanded procedural requirements;
- formalised evidence exchange obligations;
- detailed accessibility and reasonable adjustments policies;
- enhanced conflict of interest procedures and registers;
- extensive annual reporting requirements;
- increased audit and monitoring obligations;
- ongoing regulatory oversight and periodic fees.
Whilst the stated intention behind the reforms is understandable, the practical effect is that smaller specialist ADR providers now face a level of bureaucracy and administrative infrastructure more akin to that of a large ombudsman scheme.
For many modest-sized ADR providers, the economics are increasingly difficult to justify.
The new charging regime alone introduces substantial additional ongoing costs, including periodic accreditation fees payable every six months together with transition and compliance costs. In practice, the reality is that providers are likely to require substantially higher fees per dispute in order to remain commercially viable.
For a smaller provider such as ProMediate, continuing within the accredited ADR framework would require a significant increase in charges to users of the scheme. Regrettably, we do not consider that to be proportionate or commercially realistic for the type and value of disputes we have historically handled.
Accordingly, ProMediate has decided to withdraw from the CTSI accredited ADR framework and instead focus on private mediation and dispute resolution work outside the statutory consumer ADR scheme structure.
This does not mean that ProMediate is ceasing mediation work. On the contrary, we remain fully committed to mediation and consensual dispute resolution. We continue to believe strongly that mediation and early neutral intervention can resolve many disputes far more effectively and constructively than litigation.
However, we believe that the new regulatory regime risks making accredited ADR increasingly inaccessible to smaller specialist providers and may ultimately reduce flexibility and choice within the ADR sector.
We would like to thank all those who have worked with ProMediate over the years, including businesses, consumers, professional colleagues and CTSI personnel who have always engaged professionally and constructively with us.
We remain available for private mediation work and other forms of dispute resolution moving forward.