How to be a champion complainer

Driven mad by arrogant banks, inaccurate energy bills, delayed flights or hopeless broadband? DON’T be too shy to kick up a fuss – here we reveal the secrets of . . .

THE BRITISH are often typecast as too polite to complain or cause a fuss.

Research from the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), suggests 15 million of us suffer in silence because we lack the confidence to complain. However, those who don’t pluck up the courage to protest will often miss out on refunds and redress.

Every week, Money Mail’s postbag is full of letters and emails complaining about shoddy service from banks, insurers and utility giants.

Yet a survey for the FCA last October revealed that 28 pc of us put up with poor service because we lack the know-how to speak up.

In many cases, a firmly-worded letter to your provider will do the job, but when that fails there are now numerous official alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes that help customers resolve gripes.

Here’s our definitive guide on how to get what you are entitled to.

FIRST STEPS TO TAKE

YOU can complain about a business if you are unhappy with the service you received or you have suffered financial loss, distress or inconvenience.

You should write ‘formal complaint’ at the top of an email or letter addressed to the company and request a written response.

Bullet point what has gone wrong and explain how you want the firm to resolve the issues. List your direct financial and consequential losses, including time spent on the phone and how you have been inconvenienced. Ask the company to compensate you for this.

Include any evidence that supports your case and research the firm online to see if others have experienced the same treatment. Companies typically have eight weeks to respond.

If your complaint falls on deaf ears, or is refuted, it is time to turn to an official complaints service such as an Ombudsman or ADR scheme. Critics say they can be confusing and some are ineffective, but they are typically a far cheaper and faster option than going to court.

BANK BOTHER

THE Financial Ombudsman Service is responsible for dealing with complaints about all regulated financial firms, including banks, credit card firms, pension providers, insurers, and even payday lenders. It received 333,967 complaints in the tax year 2017 to 2018. Around 34 pc were upheld in the customer’s favour.

You must first give your bank a chance to resolve the issue directly. They should investigate and respond within eight weeks.

If your complaint is rejected, you should be sent a final response letter outlining your right to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman. You have six months after receiving this letter to do so.

If the bank fails to respond to your initial complaint, you can refer it to the Ombudsman after eight weeks.

Your complaint will first be dealt with by an initial case handler. If you lose at this stage you can appeal to the Ombudsman, who’s decision is legally binding on the firm.

The most the Ombudsman can order companies to pay is £150,000 — excluding interest and costs which can be awarded on top. But the maximum payout is rising to £350,000 as of April 1.

To make a complaint, call 0800 023 4567, visit help. financialombudsman.org.uk or write to Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London E14 9SR.

BODGED BILLS

THE most common gripes about energy suppliers include billing mistakes, poor customer service and loss of supply.

If you have a complaint, your first port of call is your provider. If your complaint is rejected and you are still unhappy, you have 12 months to take your grievance to the Energy Ombudsman for free.

All energy firms are obliged to sign up, and the service is approved by watchdog Ofgem. Latest figures show that the Ombudsman resolved almost 49,000 complaints in 2017. More than six in ten were upheld in favour of the customer.

If the Ombudsman’s rules in your favour, your supplier has 28 days to resolve the issue. If the problem still isn’t fixed after 85 days, you can request a further review or, as a last resort, take court action.

The Ombudsman can also report the firm to Ofgem.

The service is funded by energy companies who pay a fee for any case that is referred to the service. Complain online at ombudsmanservices. phone 0330 440 1624 or write to Ombudsman Services: Energy, PO Box 966, Warrington, WA4 9DF.

BAD BROADBAND

EACH week Money Mail is inundated with complaints about telecoms giants.

These typically include billing errors, slow broadband speed, problems switching supplier, loss of service and mis-selling.

All telecoms firms belong to either the Communications Ombudsman — which works with more than 1,450 providers including BT, EE, O2 and Plusnet. Or the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) — which covers Vodafone, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.

In 2017, the Communications Ombudsman resolved 41,751 complaints — up from 29,503 in 2016.

CISAS dealt with 2,927 disputes between July 2017 and June 2018. You can complain online at

ombudsman- services.org, or by writing to Ombudsman Services: Communications, PO Box 730, Warrington, WA4 6WU. Its helpline number is 0330 440 1614. For CISAS visit cedr. com/

consumer/cisas, or 020 7520 3814.

FLIGHT GRIEVANCE

EVERY year, thousands of airline passengers are delayed, miss flights, lose their baggage, experience poor service or are hit with hidden fees.

If this happens to you, always complain to the airline first. If they do not respond after eight weeks, or you are unhappy with the outcome, your next step is to find out if the firm is signed up to a dispute resolution service.

The two main voluntary schemes are the AviationADR and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

AviationADR members include Emirates, Flybe, Delta and Virgin Atlantic.

British Airways, Thomas Cook, easyJet and Tui belong to CEDR’s dispute scheme, along with airports London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Manchester. Only airlines Jet2 and Ryanair are not signed up to either. In this instance, you should contact aviation watchdog the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Complain for free to AviationADR online at aviationadr.org.uk or write to AviationADR, 12 Walker Avenue, Stratford Office Village, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes, MK12 5TW. Or call 0203 540 8063.

If your airline is a member of

CEDR, visit cedr.com/consumer/

aviation/submit-a-claim, write to Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, 70 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1EU, or call 020 7536 6099. There is a £25 administration fee if you lose your case.

CEDR says it does not close a case until any payment it has awarded has been paid.

To contact the aviation regulator, visit caa.co.uk, write to Passenger

Advice and Complaints Team PACT), UK Civil Aviation Authority, 45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE or call 0330 022 1500.

PROPERTY PAIN

T IS a legal requirement for ettings, sales and property management agents to be signed p to a redress scheme. So if your state agent delays your house sale, ou are hit with unfair fees or were given bad advice, you can complain. This will be either to The Property Ombudsman (TPO) or the Property Redress Scheme (PRS). If your dispute cannot be resolved with the firm, they should send you a final response letter outlining how to escalate your complaint.

TPO will accept complaints up to 12 months after the final letter is received. If your agent is signed up to the PRS, you have six months.

If your estate or letting agent failed to clearly explain these deadlines, you may be given longer.

TPO is the largest redress schemes, with 15,818 sales agents and 14,746 lettings agents. Members include Foxtons and Acorn. In 2017, it received 3,658 complaints, and ordered agents to pay

£ 1.36 million to customers. To complain to TPO, call 01722 333306 and request a complaints form, or download one via its website: attpos. co.uk./consumers/completing-thecomplaints

Send the form, along with any supporting documents, via email to admin@ tpos. co. uk or The Property Ombudsman, Milford House, 43- 55 Milford Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2BP.

You can complain to the PRS online at theprs.co.uk/complain, or call 0333 321 9418. Alternatively, write to Property Redress Scheme, Premiere House, 1st Floor, Elstree Way, Borehamwood WD6 1JH.

If the firm ignores the Obudsman’s decision, they will be expelled from the scheme.

RETAIL REDRESS

SHOPS are not obliged to sign up to any redress scheme but some are members, regardless.

Typical complaints received by retailers are about faulty goods, missing parts, deliveries and mis-selling.

If your complaint is about a lost, stolen or damaged delivery, you should first complain to the retailer rather than the delivery firm.

The Consumer Ombudsman has around 20 members but only very few, including New Look and Panasonic, are big names.

Visit consumer-ombudsman.org/ ComplaintLodgement or call 0333 300 1620. Alternatively, write to PO Box 1263, Warrington WA4 9RE.

Another scheme, called RetailADR, has 50 retailers signed up, including Debenhams, Cotswold Living, Ikea, and Poundland. To make a complaint call 020 3540 8063, write to 12 Walker Avenue, Stratford Office Village, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes MK12 5TW, or visit dashboard.retailadr.org.uk/ dashboard/create-claim.php.

If the retailer is not signed up to a dispute scheme you can contact Trading Standards via Citizens Advice on 03454 04 05 06.

COURT ACTION

AS A final option, you can take your complaint to a small claims court (known as a simple procedure in Scotland). There is a claim limit of £10,000 in England and Wales, £ 5,000 in Scotland and £3,000 in Northern Ireland. Some disputes have different caps — the limit for a housing disrepair claim, for example, is £1,000. You first fill out a claim form. Visit

gov.uk/make-money-claim or your local court. You do not need a solicitor but you may want legal advice as making a mistake could mean your claim is thrown out.

You can also call the HM Courts & Tribunal Service money claims helpline on 0300 123 7050, but it will not give out legal advice.

Submitting a claim to the court costs money. How much depends on the size of the claim. If you win your case, you get these fees back, but if you lose you may be liable for the other party’s costs.