Customer Complaints Code

1. Scope and definitions

1.1 This Code applies to all NumberGroup customers and to anyone who has purchased a memorable phone number from the NumberGroup marketplace. NumberGroup is a trading name of Datazero Ltd, registered in England and Wales (company number 07390438), registered office International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London EC3V 3NG. Datazero Ltd is a UK communications provider regulated by Ofcom.

1.2 In this Code, a complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by you or someone authorised by you about the service, a number, a charge, a port, our staff, or anything else we do (or fail to do). You don’t need to use the word “complaint” for us to treat it as one.

1.3 We give particular care to complaints from Small Business Customers (as defined by Ofcom: a business customer that is not itself a communications provider and where no more than 10 individuals work — whether as employees, volunteers or otherwise) and to complaints from vulnerable customers as described in section 8.

2. How to contact us

You can complain to us by any of the following:

• Email: help@numbergroup.com — please put “Complaint” in the subject line so we triage correctly.
• Phone: 0800 310 1010 — UK business hours, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:30, Saturday 10:00 to 14:00.
• Post: Customer Complaints, NumberGroup, c/o Datazero Ltd, International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London EC3V 3NG.

2.1 You can ask someone else — a family member, friend, lawyer, or advice service — to complain on your behalf. We’ll need your written authority before we discuss account details with them.

3. What we do when you complain

3.1 We acknowledge complaints within 1 UK working day of receipt. The acknowledgement confirms we’ve got the complaint, gives you a reference, and tells you what happens next.

3.2 A named member of our team investigates. This means actually looking at what happened — call records, account history, ticket logs, conversations — not just reading back the policy.

3.3 We come back to you with a substantive response, telling you what we found, whether we agree the service fell short, what we propose to do about it, and where you can go if you’re still not happy.

3.4 If we need more time — for example because we’re waiting on a third party such as the upstream carrier for porting information — we keep you updated at least once a week with progress and a realistic timescale.

4. Response times

Our commitments:

• Acknowledgement: within 1 UK working day.
• Substantive response: within 10 UK working days of receipt for straightforward complaints.
• Complex investigations: within 20 UK working days, with weekly progress updates.
• Escalation response: within 5 UK working days of the escalation request.

4.1 These are commitments, not guarantees. If a complaint genuinely can’t be resolved within those windows we tell you why and agree a new timescale with you.

5. Escalating within NumberGroup

5.1 If you’re not satisfied with the response from our support team, ask for the complaint to be escalated to a Director of Datazero Ltd. Just reply to your complaint thread or email help@numbergroup.com with the subject “Escalation” and your existing complaint reference.

5.2 A Director reviews the file, takes a fresh look, and responds to you in writing within 5 UK working days. The Director’s response is our final position internally.

6. Deadlock letters

6.1 A deadlock letter is a written confirmation from us that we have done everything we can to resolve your complaint internally and that we have reached the limit of what we are prepared to offer.

6.2 We may issue a deadlock letter at any time during the complaint if we genuinely can’t resolve it internally. We will always issue one on request once 8 weeks have passed since you first raised the complaint, so you’re not held up from referring it to the Ombudsman.

6.3 The deadlock letter explains your right to refer the complaint to the Communications Ombudsman and includes their contact details.

7. Taking your complaint to the Communications Ombudsman

7.1 If we haven’t resolved your complaint within 8 weeks of you first raising it, or if we’ve issued a deadlock letter sooner, you can refer it to the Communications Ombudsman. They are an independent, Ofcom-approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. Their service is free to you to use.

• Website: www.commsombudsman.org
• Phone: 0330 440 1614
• Email: enquiries@commsombudsman.org
• Post: Communications Ombudsman, P.O. Box 730, Warrington WA4 6WU

7.2 The Ombudsman will look at the complaint independently and can require us to do specific things — apologise, make a change, refund, or pay compensation — if they find in your favour. We’re bound by their decision; you are not.

7.3 The Ombudsman accepts complaints up to 12 months after the date of the issue you’re complaining about, or up to 12 months after we tell you we’ve reached deadlock.

8. Help for vulnerable customers

8.1 We follow Ofcom’s Treating Vulnerable Customers Fairly guidance. If your circumstances make it harder for you to use the service or to raise a complaint — for example because of health, disability, bereavement, financial difficulty, language, or care responsibilities — please tell us. We won’t pry, but we want to know how to help.

8.2 Where you tell us about a vulnerability we will:

• flag it on your account so every staff member who deals with you knows;
• offer different ways to contact us (phone, written, through a third party);
• give more time where you need it;
• not press for payment where genuine financial hardship is involved (see clause 7.8 of the General Conditions — “if you genuinely can’t pay, talk to us”).

8.3 We do not record vulnerability information beyond what we need to help you, and you can ask us to remove it at any time.

9. Compensation and remediation

9.1 Where we agree we have caused you loss or inconvenience, we look at the proportionate remedy — apology, fix the underlying issue, service credit, refund, or compensation. The exact remedy is governed by clause 10 of the General Conditions and the relevant Schedule.

9.2 For Membership service outages directly attributable to NumberGroup that exceed 24 continuous hours during UK business hours, a pro-rata service credit applies automatically under Schedule B, clause B11.2.

9.3 We don’t pretend to be able to compensate for every loss. What we will do is be honest about what went wrong, why, and what we’re changing so it doesn’t happen to someone else.

10. Publication and review

10.1 This Code is published at numbergroup.com/terms/complaints and is free to access. We link to it from the website footer and from our checkout, Membership signup, and complaint acknowledgement emails.

10.2 We send a copy on request by post, free of charge, in standard print or large print. Email or call us using the contacts in section 2.

10.3 We review this Code at least annually and after any material change to the service, regulation, or our complaints volume. Material changes take effect after 30 days’ notice on this page; existing complaints are handled under the version of the Code that applied when they were raised.

11. Your other rights

11.1 Using this Code does not affect any other legal rights you have, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (where applicable to your purchase), the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, UK GDPR (data protection complaints can also be made to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk), or your right to take legal action.

11.2 Nothing in this Code limits or replaces the rights of Small Business Customers under Ofcom General Conditions of Entitlement.