How to make a complaint
Ever been annoyed with a company or a service? Did you seethe with frustration and say nothing, or lose your temper only to wish you'd handled it better afterwards? Very few of us get it right first time. Our guide will show you the best way to complain and get what you want.
The most important thing to remember before making a complaint is to pause, take a deep breath and make sure you follow these five golden rules:
1. Find out what your rights are
2. Decide what outcome you want
3. Find out who to complain to
4. Don’t get angry
5. Put it in writing
It’s no use yelling at the shop assistant or bank manager only to discover that you’re in the wrong. It might get rid of some of your frustration but will only leave you feeling embarrassed. Plus people are more likely to help if you if you haven’t antagonised them!
1. Find out what your rights are
The first step in dealing with any kind of problem is to find out what your basic rights are. These might be written down in a customer charter, or in a letter you received from the company. But be careful about a company’s small print, you may have rights even when the company tell you otherwise. It is worth getting advice about your rights from an independent source such as advicenow.org.uk, Trading Standards, or an advice organisation. There are law centres and advice agencies that can advise you on your rights and entitlements in most towns. Sometimes a letter or phone call from a third party, or mentioning that you have been to see an advice agency, is all it takes to resolve the problem.
2. Decide what outcome you want
We all know of someone who’s stormed in somewhere and walked out 10 minutes later with a few vouchers, only to realise that they didn’t actually get what they wanted! You need to decide what you want before you complain. Sometimes this is quite straightforward but in cases of disputes with employers, landlords or local authorities it can be more difficult to know. In situations like these it is worth thinking about whether you just want the situation remedied or whether you deserve some form of compensation.
3. Find out who to complain to
Having worked out what you want, and armed yourself with the basic information on your situation, its time to act. First, complain to the company or individual concerned and give them a chance to respond. Ask if there is a formal complaints policy, and follow that. If there is no complaints policy, find out the name of the manager, and the address to send your complaint to.
4. Don't get angry
5. Put it in writing
When taking any action about a complaint always always keep a written record of all your letters and calls. If you telephone someone make sure you record the time of the call, and the name of the person you are speaking to, and follow up the call with a letter. When you write, always give the other person a reasonable time limit for responding; for example; ‘I expect a reply within 14 days’.
Putting something in writing also enables you to include any evidence that backs up your case .The more proof you’ve got the better; one landlord was forced to cough up compensation after a disgruntled tenant produced photos of his leaking roof!
Writing something down also helps you to avoid getting too angry. If you are going to speak to someone, and feel that you are likely to lose your temper, then perhaps you could rehearse what you’re going to say with a friend. One useful tip from a solicitor is to start by being as pleasant as possible because you can always add pressure if you need to, whereas it is almost impossible to back down once you’ve got angry.
But what if that doesn't work?
Hopefully you should get a satisfactory response after writing, but if your letter doesn’t resolve things, or you’ve already tried this, then there are further courses of action you can take.
- For many industries and sectors, including many statutory services, there is an ombudsman scheme. The ombudsman is an independent body responsible for handling complaints about an organisation within their remit. Before going to the ombudsman, you must have already used the company's official complaints procedure, but not got a good result. With some ombudsman, like the Estate Agents' Ombudsman, the company concerned has to voluntarily be a member otherwise they can’t help. However other ombudsman, like the Financial Services ombudsman, oversee a huge range of organisations. Public-sector ombudsmen, in most cases, can only review how a decision was made (rather than whether the decision was right) and determine whether it was badlt administrated and whether an individual suffered an injustice as a result. See the links to other websites for a list of ombudsmen and what issues they can deal with.
- Another possibility is mediation. Usually used for civil disputes, like divorce and neighbour problems, it involves an impartial mediator who will help you and the other party to reach a mutually agreed solution. Mediation is not a substitute for legal advice but is used alongside it. The advantage of mediation is that as well as helping to find a practical solution, the mediator will help you deal with the anger and frustration that can arise from a dispute. It is also usually considerably cheaper than litigation! However, any decision that is reached is not legally binding.
- Arbitration is similar to mediation, but with more legal weight. Arbitration is the legal term for dispute resolution by an impartial solicitor. The arbitrator often makes a decision after reading written submissions from the parties involved and without ever meeting them. As a result, arbitration, unlike mediation, may not help you deal with the anger and frustration that can arise from a dispute. Unlike mediation, the decision, (called ‘the award’) is legally binding. Schemes are available for a huge variety of complaints from problems with travel agents to royal mail to mortgages. If the cost is off-putting look for free, low-cost or fixed fee legal assistance.
- Ever seen BBC’s Watchdog and wished they could help you? Or read about someone in the local paper that suffered at the hands of the council? You could also consider using the media. The idea is to shame the other party into sorting your problem out for you – but the media will only be interested in airing your story if it is unusual or highlights a widespread failure on an organisation’s behalf. If you want to try this, write to your local paper, radio or television company (listed in the phone book).
- There is also a huge range of campaign groups - for everything from victims of medical negligence to grandparents with no rights to contact their grandchildren. You could also ask your local MP to take up your cause.
- If all else fails then your last option is to go to court.
Taking court action
You can take civil action against someone for all kinds of problems, including consumer, housing, and personal issues. However you need to be aware that the court can only help if there has been an obvious violation of your civil rights – like a breach of contract, negligence, or discrimination. You will need to work out what the other person owes you, including costs like trauma and inconvenience. Legal action can be very expensive and if you take a case to court you’ll probably be expected to pay the court costs, so always include these in your claim, plus extras like solicitors fees, witness expenses, costs of reports, and interest. There are no-win no fee schemes, which may be worth considering. And, in some cases, you might be entitled to legal aid to help pay the costs of your case.
For simple cases where you are owed less than £5000 you can use the ‘small claims track’. This is a very common, straightforward court procedure with an informal hearing. You present your reasons for making a claim, the other party has a chance to respond, and then the judge makes a decision. You often don’t need a solicitor for this, although you should get legal advice before starting court action. Even if you’re not using the small claims track, most cases will be dealt with by the County Courts, unless there are extenuating circumstances or you’re claiming over £15,000.
Remember that if you do take someone to court then expect a lot of form filling, and a long wait. It is very rare that disputes are settled quickly, sometimes dragging on for years. So be patient!
You don’t always have to take part in a trial - many cases are dealt with on paper, even if they’re defended, so if you’re nervous about this don’t worry. If you do have to go to court, then rest assured, the ushers at the court are always helpful and will let you know what to do.
Even if the case is decided in your favour, then don’t celebrate quite yet – if you are trying to recover money you may need a further court order to start proceedings for actually getting the dosh.
Finally, although it is possible to take court action against someone without having a solicitor, it is best to get professional advice before starting legal proceedings. Your local law centre or Citizens Advice Bureaux are a good place to start. In some cases there are also time limits for taking action (taking an employer to court for unfair dismissal for example), plus pre-action protocols for various issues - so an adviser will be able to help you with any procedures like these.
Remember the courts are a last resort, and so before you think about taking action you should make sure that all other avenues have been exhausted. In fact you may be penalised if you try to take court action without proving you’ve tried all other options first.
So good luck with your complaint – follow these steps and hopefully it will be resolved soon!
