How to complain to a company

1. Contact the company

Whether you've got an issue with a faulty product, poor service or price rises, your first step is to contact the company in question.

It’s best to put your complaint in writing, either in a letter or by email. Make sure to include any photos, videos, receipts or screenshots that might be relevant to your complaint.

If the company has an official complaints procedure, follow its instructions and be sure to escalate your complaint through the company's official process if you wish to take the matter further. 

Keep a record of any phone calls or correspondence you have with the company.

Some companies, especially within the personal finance sector, have a set a time limit in which they must resolve complaints. 

If you're unhappy with the outcome of a complaint, you may wish to refer your problem to the relevant ombudsman or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme.

If you're struggling to get a response from the company, posting on its social media feeds may speed up its reply.

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Complaints about faulty products

If your complaint is about a faulty product, you can use our free tool below to draft a letter to send to the retailer.

2. Use an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme

Companies within certain sectors are required to offer an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service. 

ADR schemes are independent bodies that help resolve disputes between consumers and companies. They can help both parties find an amicable solution.

In some sectors, such as travel or home improvements, there are mediation and arbitration schemes, especially if a company is part of a trade association.

If you want help resolving your complaint, it's worth looking up whether the company in question is a member of a scheme.

The decision made by the arbitrator is binding on both parties. If you’re unhappy with the decision, you will not be able to take the matter to court afterwards, or use an ombudsman service.

3. Refer the complaint to an ombudsman

An ombudsman is a form of ADR. Before you go to an ombudsman, you usually need to have reached a position of deadlock with the company.

This happens when you’ve been through a company’s official complaints procedure, and come to a point where the company believes that it can do nothing more to rectify the situation.

You can ask the company for a letter of deadlock to show you’ve done all you can to resolve the complaint.

An ombudsman is an independent referee, who will look at both sides of the dispute in order to offer a solution. 

They will act only when service or administrative errors have occurred. You can find out more in about when to take a complaint to an ombudsmanin our guide.

All ombudsman services have different conditions regarding timing. Some may require you to give the company more time to resolve the issue than others, and there are limits as to how old a complaint can be for an ombudsman to look at it.

The main public or government schemes that may be able to help if you wish to complain about a company are:  

• the Financial Ombudsman Service – for complaints about banks, investment companies, insurance companies and other financial services companies
• the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) – for complaints about telephone, mobile and broadband companies
• the Ombudsman Services - for complaints about energy and communications companies
• the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman - for complaints about NHS organisations and government departments and services

Remember, contacting an ombudsman is a last resort, so do all you can to rectify the situation with the company first.

4. Use the small claims court

You can use the small claims court as a final option if you feel that a company has breached its contract. 

Before you use the small claims court, you'll need to demonstrate that you have tried all other routes to seek redress. 

The maximum amount of money you can claim in the small claims court is £10,000 in England and Wales, or £5,000 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.