Complaints and disputes

This pack provides you with a large range of document templates for dealing with a problem with goods you have purchased. It provides templates for requesting a refund, a replacement, or compensation in the event of goods being unfit for purpose, damaged during delivery, faulty or poorly repaired. See the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use, and the circumstances under which each is most appropriate.

Use this letter to seek a refund from your credit card company for goods costing between £100 and £30,000 that you purchased, or part purchased, that were not delivered or were faulty, not as described, or not fit for their purpose. It can be used for items purchased from outside of the UK. For goods purchased on or after 1 October 2015 which are either faulty, not as described or not fit for their purpose, you will have an automatic right to cancel the contract and obtain a refund if no more than 30 days have passed since you bought the goods. Otherwise you will have to wait until you have given the seller at least one opportunity to repair or replace the goods before claiming a refund. For goods purchased on or after 1 October 2015 that have not been delivered, you will have to wait for 30 days from the date of purchase for delivery if the contract does not contain a specific delivery date. Depending on whether you agreed with the seller that the time for delivery was essential before buying the goods, you may have to give the seller another chance to deliver the goods but extending the time for delivery. If the goods were purchased on or after 1 October 2015 you must have notified the seller that you want a refund before sending this letter. This document is suitable for consumers (not businesses) in the UK only.

You can use this letter to ask for a refund if you've been left with a faulty item after the seller has tried to repair or replace it.

This letter is suitable for requests about goods bought within the last 6 years. You can also use it in relation to digital content (e.g. a digital movie file), but only to ask for a price reduction (not a refund) and only if you bought it after 1 October 2015. You cannot use it about a motor vehicle.

This letter is only suitable for consumers (not businesses) making purchases from sellers based in the UK.

You can use this letter when a seller doesn't accept responsibility for a faulty item and tries to instead blame a manufacturer or developer. If you bought the item after 1 October 2015, you're entitled to a repair, replacement, or - if you ask for it within 30 days - a refund.

This letter is suitable for requests in relation to goods, but not services. You can also use it in relation to digital content (e.g. a digital movie file), but only to ask for a repair or replacement (not a refund) and only if you bought it after 1 October 2015. Do not use it if you bought the item more than 6 years ago.

Before using this letter, you need to have already complained to the seller. This letter is only suitable for consumers (not businesses) making purchases from sellers based in the UK.

Use this letter to ask for a refund from a seller where the seller has failed to deliver goods you purchased within the time expected. This could mean not delivering by a specific date as set in your contract or where, there is no specific delivery date, not delivering within 30 days or within a reasonable amount of time after the date of purchase (depending on the date of the contract). If you bought the goods without any face-to-face contact with the seller, such as ordering item(s) from the internet or a postal catalogue, or if you have purchased intangible digital content, such as an app, then this letter is not suitable for you. This document is suitable for goods purchased by a consumer (not a business) in the UK.

You can use this letter to ask for a refund or replacement if you bought something that didn't live up to its description. The description might have come through labelling, packaging, brochures, advertising or discussions with sales staff. If you bought after 1 October 2015, you're entitled to a refund if you ask for it within 30 days; after that, you can use this letter to ask for a replacement.

This letter is suitable for requests in relation to goods, but not services. You can also use it in relation to digital content (e.g. a digital movie file), but only to ask for a replacement (not a refund) and only if you bought it after 1 October 2015.

Note that if you bought remotely (e.g. via the internet or a catalogue) and fewer than 14 days have passed since you received the item, you have an automatic right to a refund. If this applies to you, don't use this letter.

This letter is only suitable for consumers (not businesses) making purchases from sellers based in the UK.

You can use this letter to complain about the poor quality of something you've bought. If you bought the item after 1 October 2015, you can use this letter to demand a refund if you ask for it within 30 days and can prove there is a fault. After that, you can use it to ask for a refund or replacement up until 6 months after purchase.

This letter is suitable for requests in relation to goods, but not services. You can also use it in relation to digital content (e.g. a digital movie file), but only to ask for a repair or replacement (not a refund) and only if you bought it after 1 October 2015.

Note that if you bought remotely (e.g. via the internet or a catalogue) and fewer than 14 days have passed since you received the item, you have an automatic right to a refund. If this applies to you, don't use this letter.

This letter is only suitable for consumers (not businesses) making purchases from sellers based in the UK.

You can use this letter to ask for compensation from the seller when a faulty item causes damage to your possessions or property. You can ask for the cost of repairing the damage or, if that's impossible or uneconomical, the cost of replacing it.

Depending on the circumstances, the letter will also ask for a refund, repair or replacement of the faulty item.

This letter is suitable for requests in relation to goods, but not services. You can also use it in relation to digital content (e.g. a digital movie file), but only if you bought it after 1 October 2015.

This letter is only suitable for consumers (not businesses) making purchases from sellers based in the UK.

Use this letter to complain to a neighbour about excessive noise. You should keep a copy of this letter when you send it along with any other correspondence between you and your neighbour. You should also begin keeping a record of the noise if you have not already done so. If this letter does not have the desired effect, you should use our 'Complaint to local authority officer about noisy neighbours' letter to escalate the matter.

Use this letter to accompany a surveyor's report confirming that damage has been caused to your property by the roots of a neighbour's tree. This should only be used if, having previously verbally complained to your neighbour, they have taken no action to rectify the problem. Should the neighbour still not repair the damage, you are legally entitled to pass on the costs of any repairs you arrange yourself. Please note that this document can only be used in England & Wales or Northern Ireland.

If previous attempts to resolve a problem with a noisy neighbour have failed, use this document to send a letter to the local authority responsible for noise complaints. You should have already sent at least one letter to the neighbour and kept a copy of that letter. If you have not already written to your neighbour, use our 'Complaint about a noisy neighbour' letter to do so.

Use this letter to request that a neighbour trim the branches of a tree or plant which overhangs your property. Before using this letter, you should check with your local authority to ensure that there is no Tree Preservation Order in place for that particular tree/plant. This letter requests that your neighbour trim the overhanging branches within ten days and states that if it is not done within this period, that you will be obliged to do so yourself and return the branches to your neighbour. Please note that this document can only be used in England & Wales.

Use this document to send a letter of objection to a neighbour's proposed extension. The letter will allow you to object to the development on the ground(s) that you object to the purpose, the nature and design, the materials used of the development and/or that you object due to concerns on the development's impact on the surrounding area. You can use this letter whether or not you have looked at the development plans from the planning office.

Property, privacy and boundary issues make up the vast majority of concerns that people have with their neighbors. Most neighborhood disputes can be easily resolved through discussion, or in the worst case with an appropriate letter of complaint, either to the individuals concerned or to the local authority. This pack provides templates for dealing with issues of noise, boundaries and overhanging vegetation - see the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use.

Use this letter as an initial request to a neighbour to prune evergreen trees or plants that are more than 2 metres high under the Anti Social Behaviour Act, if it's obstructing light to your garden or your home. Your neighbour must be living in a domestic (rather than commercial) property. This is document is suitable for individuals with property in England and Wales only.

Use this letter to demand that an individual stops trespassing on your property. Before using this letter, you must have already asked the individual to stop trespassing on your property and they must have continued to trespass in spite of your request. The letter warns the trespasser that if they do not stop trespassing on your property, you will start court proceedings.

If you lost your luggage during a flight, you can use this letter to complain and seek compensation from either an airline or a tour operator. You must wait at least 21 days after completing a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) before sending this letter. If you send your letter before this time, your luggage will be considered as 'delayed' and not lost. Note that a PIR itself can't be used to claim compensation. This document is suitable for use in the United Kingdom.

If you've recently stayed in an unsatisfactory hotel room, you can use this letter to complain and seek compensation from the hotel. You can only use this letter if you've already made a complaint about the room at the time of your stay and considered any attempts by the hotel to fix any issues. The contents of the letter follow the court's procedure rules on what information to include before starting a court claim. This document can only be used by a consumer (not a business) in the UK.

If you've been disappointed by a recent holiday because your tour operator made promises which weren't fulfilled when you got there, you can use this letter to claim compensation. For example, you might have been informed before your holiday that your hotel room had an ocean view, but it didn't. The promise could have been made verbally or through certain written material, such as in a brochure. With this letter, you can seek compensation for breach of contract and loss of enjoyment. The document contains options to attach evidence and details of any additional costs you incurred. This document can be used by consumers (not businesses), in the UK.

You can use this letter if you specifically requested certain facilities or amenities for your holiday, but they weren't available when you got there. This was despite the fact that the travel agent confirmed that they would be available. The facilities and amenities can also include additional services arranged by that travel agent. You can complain either to the individual travel agent directly or to the travel agency business and seek compensation for breach of contract and loss of enjoyment. This document is suitable for consumers (not businesses) in the UK.

Holidays are costly, and it can be very frustrating when things go wrong. This pack of documents provides templates for seeking redress for the most common issues that holidaymakers feel warrant compensation, including lost luggage, bad rooms, and delayed travel.
See the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use.

If you recently bought a ticket for a train journey that was delayed by more than an hour or if the train was cancelled, you can use this letter to complain to the train operator and claim compensation, if the reason for it was within its control. You must make this claim within 28 days of the scheduled journey if claiming for a delay or 28 days from the ticket expiry date, if claiming for a cancellation. You may be entitled to a full refund for the price of the ticket or a refund for the affected part of the journey, depending on whether or not you decided to travel. This document can be used in England, Wales and Scotland.

This is a letter to a garage complaining about damage caused to your vehicle whilst it was in their possession for routine servicing or repair work. The letter suggests that the garage repairs the damage free of charge, but advises them that, should they fail to do so, you will engage another mechanic to repair the vehicle and will pass on this cost to them. Furthermore, you warn that failure to pay this debt will lead you to initiate court proceedings against them.

This is a letter from a customer to a garage regarding substandard vehicle servicing. Use this letter where the original faults reappear following completion of the work and you subsequently get another garage to fix them. This letter will request suitable compensation from the original garage.

Use this document to demand a refund from a dealer for a vehicle that has developed a serious fault within 30 days of purchasing and taking delivery. You should include with the letter a report from an independent organisation, confirming that the vehicle has been examined and found unfit or unsafe to drive. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you are entitled to a full refund of the purchase price from the dealer, and this letter will threaten court proceedings if no refund is received.

Use this letter to demand compensation from a careless driver to cover the cost of the excess of your insurance or for any uninsured losses. If this letter is unsuccessful, you should proceed in the small claims court. Please note that if the other driver did not have insurance, you will have a claim against the Motor Insurer's Bureau and should contact them.

If a garage bills you for servicing or repairing a vehicle and that bill is much higher than the verbal estimate you were given and you did not agree to pay a specific amount or to a specific calculation of the charge, use this letter to complain to the garage that the amount charged is unreasonable. You should accompany the letter with lower quotes for the same work from at least 3 other garages, together with a cheque for what you decide is reasonable for the work they have completed on your vehicle.

Keeping your car on the road can be a costly process. This pack contains documentation enabling you to deal with all aspects of vehicle-related legal issues, complaining about poor quality of work done by a garage or damage to your vehicle whilst in their possession, to refund requests to car dealers and disagreements about service charges.
Please see the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use.

Use this letter where you have been sold a faulty vehicle by a dealer and been told by them that you need to complain to the manufacturer. You will need an independent report from an examiner detailing the faults with your vehicle. The letter assumes that you have already written to the dealer; if you haven't, you can use our 'Letter to car dealer requesting repair of a faulty vehicle' first.

If you believe that your gas, electricity or water meter is registering inaccurately, you can use this document to send a complaint to your utility company. Before sending this letter, you must have switched off the equipment for at least two hours and seen that the meter was still registering units.

This letter can be used to reject a landline or mobile phone telephone bill that is incorrect or excessive. You can use this letter when you have been incorrectly charged for calls or texts you did not make or that are duplicated, for services you did not request or receive, or for data you did not use. It can also be used if the bill has been miscalculated, agreed discounts have not been applied, you have been charged a handling fee, or a different tariff has been applied. This document is suitable for use in the United Kingdom.

Use this letter to seek compensation from an electricity distribution company (EDC) following an interruption to your supply. An EDC owns the electricity wires and cables that supply electricity to your premises. If you are unsure who your EDC is, contact your supplier.

If your electricity supply has been interrupted and not reconnected within 18 or 24 hours (depending on how many customers were affected) of the EDC becoming aware of it, the EDC must make a minimum payment under the 'Guaranteed Standards of Performance' set by the industry regulators, Ofgem (England, Wales and Scotland) and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (NIAUR).

For one-off incidents you must make a claim within 3 months of your electricity supply being restored. For persistent interruptions of 3 hours or more (i.e. 4 or more incidents in a 12-month period from 1 April to 31 March) you must make a claim within 3 months of the end of the 12-month period.

This document is suitable for businesses and consumers in the UK only.

If the gas supply to your premises has been interrupted, it must be restored within the period specified under the Guaranteed Standards set by Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets). If they are not restored within this period then you are entitled to compensation and can use this letter to make a request for it. You can also use this document if the gas transporter has completed work on your property but has not restored your property to its original condition. Please note that this document can only be used in England, Wales and Scotland.

This letter can be used to demand compensation if your water company has interrupted or stopped your water supply and failed to restore it within 48 hours where emergency works to the strategic main supply pipe are required, or within 12 hours if emergency works are required for any other reason; where planned works have not been completed by a notified time; or where there has been flooding from a sewer pipe. The letter allows you to tell the water company if you did not receive notice of the works. Payment must normally be made automatically under the Ofwat Guaranteed Standards Scheme, but if you have not received this you must make a claim for it within 3 months of the incident. This document is suitable for businesses and consumers in England and Wales only.

Use this document to request an official body to investigate a complaint you made to your water company in which you were unsatisfied with the response. To use this document, you should have already complained to the water company seeking compensation due to the fact that there was bacteria present, a serious discolouration of the water and/or because there were harmful chemicals and pollutants in the water. You should also have paid to have the water analysed as evidence and attached a copy of this report with your letter. Please note that you cannot use this document in Northern Ireland.

This pack provides templates for dealing with issues with the supplier of your water, gas, electricity or telephone services in the event of a fault or a failure to meet expected standards. See the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use.

This pack contains the documentation necessary to complain directly about poor or delayed service by an accountant or surveyor, or to take the matter further and complain to the corresponding governing bodies.
Individual descriptions within the pack explain the appropriate use of each document.

If you have employed an accountant to do some work for you, and they have not provided a satisfactory service, you can use this letter to make a complaint to them. An unsatisfactory service can relate to the quality of the work done by the accountant, but can extend beyond that to cover other matters, such as whether the work was done on time, or whether the accountant kept you informed or returned your messages. The letter asks the accountant to provide you with their proposal for rectifying the problem, and demands compensation from them if you have suffered financial or other losses. If you receive no satisfactory response to this letter and the accountant is chartered or certified, use 'Complaint to an accountant’s governing body'.

If you have found defects in a property that you recently purchased and these defects were not mentioned in the survey that you paid to be carried out on your property, use this letter to complain to the surveyor and to request compensation. As the letter informs the surveyor that you will be seeking compensation from them to cover the costs of repairing the faults, you should enclose a copy of these estimated costs with the letter.

Use this letter if you have instructed an accountant to carry out some work for you, but they have not completed the work in a reasonable time. The document requests an explanation for the delay and, optionally, asks for their estimated costs to complete the work. It is suitable for use by an individual or a business.

Use this document to send a letter of complaint to an accountant's governing body. To use this document you should have already sent an initial letter of complaint to your accountant and either received a response that was unsatisfactory or haven't received a response and a minimum of at least 14 days have passed since you sent your letter of complaint.

Use this document to request mediation, conciliation or arbitration concerning a dispute you have with your accountant, e.g. a dispute over a bill or a dispute over poor advice. It is not suitable if your dispute relates to professional misconduct, e.g. fraud or breach of professional conduct rules. If this is the case, use our "Complaint to an accountant's governing body" letter instead. Please note that this document can only be used in England, Wales and Scotland.

If you want to make a complaint about a solicitor who has provided you with poor service, you can use this document to send a complaint letter. Poor service includes where the solicitor has not done what you have instructed them to do, caused unreasonable delays, failed to respond to correspondence, failed to keep you informed about case developments or failed to give you pricing guidelines before starting work on your case.

The guidance also contains help about what you need to do next if you need to escalate your complaint. This document is suitable for complaints against solicitors licensed to practice in England & Wales.

If you want to make a complaint about a barrister, you can use this document to send a complaint letter about poor service, professional misconduct and/or negligence. It can be sent either to the barrister directly or to their employer/chambers. The guidance also contains help about what you need to do next if you need to escalate your complaint. This document is suitable for complaints against barristers licensed to practice in England & Wales.

If you want to make a complaint about a licensed conveyancer, you can use this document to send a complaint letter about poor service, professional misconduct and/or negligence. It can be sent either to the conveyancer directly or to their employer. The guidance also contains help about what you need to do next if you need to escalate your complaint. This document is suitable for complaints against licensed conveyancers who practice in England & Wales.

Use this letter to forward the details of your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman about the poor service, negligence and/or misconduct of a legal service provider (a solicitor, barrister, licensed conveyancer or legal executive). Before sending this letter, you should have sent the legal service provider an initial letter of complaint and have not received a response after 8 weeks or are unhappy with their response. If you have not yet sent an initial letter of complaint, you should do so now and wait 8 weeks for a response, unless you are concerned that by doing so you will miss the time limits imposed by the Legal Ombudsman. This document is suitable for complaints against a legal service provider licensed to practice in England & Wales.

If your solicitor charges you more than what you expected, you can use this letter to request that they provide an itemised account of each of their charges. By having your solicitor justify each item of work, you may be able to reduce the amount of the final bill. This document is suitable for the UK only.

This pack contains a range of letters that can be used to write a complaint about a solicitor or barrister. The pack includes documents such as, Complaint to the Legal Services Ombudsman, Initial letter of complaint in relation to the poor service of a solicitor, Letter of complaint in relation to a barrister, Letter of complaint in relation to a licensed conveyancer, Letter of complaint to the Legal Complaints Service about a solicitor, Letter to a solicitor requesting a remuneration certificate, Request for a solicitor to itemise charges.

See the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use.

If you recently went to a restaurant and received unsatisfactory service, you can use this letter to complain and seek compensation. The letter also includes an option to reclaim costs for ruined clothes or to reclaim any dry-cleaning costs, if staff spilt food or drink on your clothes. This document is ideally suited if the service charge was automatically included within your bill and the restaurant refused to deduct it. You can't use this document if your complaint is about the quality or standard of the food. This document is suitable for services bought by a consumer (not a business) in the UK.

If you have booked a table at a restaurant and they have failed to provide you with the table that you have booked, you can use this letter to send a complaint. To use this document, you must have either been told that there was no other table available or that to get another table that you would have to wait and you could not or did not want to wait. If you have had any additional costs caused by the cancellation of the booking, you can also use this letter to recover these additional costs.

If you have had an unsatisfactory meal at a restaurant, you can use this letter to demand a full refund for the meal. You must have complained to a member of staff at the restaurant in order to use this letter. The letter will also allow you to claim compensation if you became ill after consuming the meal. This document is suitable for services purchased by a consumer (not a business) in the UK.

This pack will enable you to contact a restaurant in relation seeking recompense if you are unsatisfied with your experience – that’s due to poor service, a booking they have failed to honour, or just unsatisfactory food.

If you have employed a removal company who has damaged one or more items whilst moving, you can use this letter to demand compensation. The letter will allow you to seek a repair or replacement of the item(s) damaged (depending on which is more appropriate).

If you have taken an item to a dry-cleaner and they have caused damage to it, you are entitled to claim compensation under the Supply of Goods and Services Act (and similar provisions in Scotland). This letter can be used if a garment has been damaged whilst being cleaned, pressed or tailored. It will allow you to select whether the damaged garment should be repaired or replaced. You must enclose a photocopy of the dry-cleaning receipt with this letter, to support your claim.This document is suitable for consumers (not businesses) who have used dry-cleaners in the UK.

Where an insurance company has rejected a claim and you believe that this is a mistake, you can use this document to raise a complaint. This letter will begin a formal complaints procedure and can be used in relation to any type of insurance policy. This document is suitable for use in the UK only.

Use this letter to demand that your landlord repay your deposit. The letter contains an option dealing with whether your deposit has been protected under a deposit protection scheme. If the landlord does not respond to this letter, it will warn that you will use the scheme's alternative dispute resolution scheme or take the matter to court. Before taking the matter to court, it is important that you send this letter or else the court may decide that you have acted unreasonably which could result in you not getting your costs of a claim. This document can be used for tenancies in England and Wales and Northern Ireland only.

This is a letter to your bank giving them permission to disclose information about your account to a third party.

As an individual or a business, use this letter to give notice of a change of address to a third party. The document is suitable for use whether or not you have a contractual duty to notify the other party of the change of address. Where the letter is sent from a business, it must be signed by an authorised signatory of the company.

If you wish to view or have copies of the medical records which are held at your doctor's surgery, you can use this letter to make a formal request. It is necessary to make this request in writing. You can also use this document to request access to view or have copies of the medical records of a third party if you have power of attorney for that person or if you have their consent. Please note that this document cannot be used if the third party is a minor (i.e. under the age of 18).

If you feel your insurance company has incorrectly refused your claim on the grounds that the damage was caused by an event that isn't covered by your policy, this letter will raise a formal complaint with them. Before sending it, you should have obtained the second opinion of an assessor. If you have not obtained the opinion of an assessor then use our ‘Complaint to an insurer about the rejection of a claim’ letter instead. Note that this document is only suitable for claims that involve damage to tangible property and should only be used in the UK.