Dealing with a company
Complaining properly, escalating, and asking what they hold on you. 7 templates, all free to fill in and print.
Complaints succeed on specifics. Name the transaction, attach the evidence, say exactly what outcome you want, and give a date. Keep the tone level even when the situation is not, because a calm letter is one you can forward to a regulator without having to explain the language in it. Most industries have an escalation path — the company's own complaints team, then an ombudsman, then a court or tribunal — and each stage will want to see that you tried the one before it. You are also entitled, in most of these countries, to ask an organisation what personal data it holds about you and to have it corrected or deleted.
Companies resolve complaints through a process, and the process rewards people who write in a particular way: one issue, dated facts, a named remedy, a deadline. Everything else gets a template reply. The other thing worth knowing is that the first person you reach is almost never the person who can say yes, and that most sectors have a free independent body above the company, an ombudsman, regulator or tribunal, which will only look at your case after the company's own complaints process has run out. So the first letter is not really aimed at the person who opens it. It is aimed at the file the ombudsman will eventually read, and it should be written that way from the start.
One complaint, dated, with a remedy
A complaint letter that works is boring. Open with the account, policy or booking reference and the date of the incident. Then a short chronology: what you were promised, what happened, what you did about it and what the company said each time, with dates. Then the effect on you, factually, in time lost, money spent or service missed. Then the single remedy you want, as a number or an action, and a date by which you expect a reply. Keep it to one issue. Three complaints in one letter get answered as whichever is easiest to dismiss. Do not threaten anything you are not prepared to do. The letter has a second audience later, and it should read well to a stranger with no reason to be on your side.
Escalate along the published route
If the first reply does not resolve it, escalate deliberately rather than starting again. An escalation letter refers to the original complaint by its reference and date, says specifically what the response failed to address, and asks for a final response or a deadlock letter. That phrase matters, because in many sectors the company's final response is the document that opens the door to the independent scheme above it. Find out what that scheme is before you need it. Financial services, energy, telecoms, water, insurance and transport usually each have their own, with deadlines running from the company's final reply. Most are free to the consumer. Keep every letter, reference number and reply date, and note the name of anyone you speak to on the phone.
Ask what they hold about you
A data access request asks an organisation for a copy of the personal data it holds on you, and it is one of the most useful tools in a stuck dispute, because it can produce call recordings, internal notes and the record of what you were actually told. A data erasure request asks for data to be deleted, which is a narrower right with more exceptions, since organisations can usually keep what they need for legal or contractual reasons. Rights of this kind exist under UK and EU data protection law, under state privacy laws in the US, and in varying forms in India, Canada and Australia, but the scope, deadline and grounds differ. Look up the regulator for your own jurisdiction and send the request to the privacy contact the organisation publishes.
Renewals, claims and being a customer
Not every letter to a company is a complaint. An insurance renewal is a negotiation: the renewal quote is a price, not a fact, and asking for it to be reviewed against alternative quotes you have obtained is a normal request. Put it in writing, name the quotes, and give a date before the policy auto-renews. A flight compensation claim works differently again. It is a statutory entitlement in some regions and airline policy in others, and it depends on the route, the carrier and the reason for the disruption, so check which regime covers your flight. In all of these the pattern is the same: reference, facts, the specific thing you want, a deadline, and a copy kept.
The order to do it in
- Find the company's published complaints procedure and the independent scheme that sits above it.
- Write one complaint with references, a dated chronology, the effect on you and one remedy.
- Give a reply deadline, then escalate in writing asking for a final response or deadlock letter.
- Send a data access request if you need call recordings or internal notes to prove what happened.
- Take the final response and your file to the ombudsman or regulator within its deadline.
Common questions
How do I escalate a complaint a company keeps ignoring?
Write again referring to the original complaint reference and date, state precisely what was not addressed, and ask for a final response or a deadlock letter. That document is usually what allows an independent scheme to take the case. If there is still no reply, most sectors let you go to the ombudsman or regulator after a set period, so check the time limit for your sector and country.
Can I ask a company for recordings of my phone calls?
In many jurisdictions a data access request covers recordings of calls you took part in, along with internal notes about you. The right, the deadline and the exemptions differ, since UK and EU data protection law, US state privacy laws and the frameworks in India, Canada and Australia are not the same. Check your own regulator's guidance, send the request to the published privacy contact, and keep proof of the date.
Is it worth complaining in writing rather than by phone?
Yes, and you can do both. Phone calls resolve simple things quickly, but nothing said on one is evidence unless the company produces the recording. Written complaints create the reference number, the dated trail and the final response that an ombudsman or tribunal will later ask for. If you do call, follow it with a short email summarising what was agreed and asking them to confirm.