Tips on making your complaint
If you have a problem, speak to someone at the point where you received the goods or service. Hopefully, they will be able to sort out the problem straight away. If not, try speaking to the manager. If you are still dissatisfied, you should complain in writing to the company.
How do I make a complaint in writing
If you have a problem with a service or even faulty goods you have bought, you should consider making your complaint in writing. We have put together a checklist to help you write down your complaint.
Remember, in this technological age you don’t always have to resort to pen and paper. Many organisations have a fax number or e-mail address you can use. They may also have a web site address with an on-line complaint form to help you make a complaint.
A checklist for complaining
- if the company has a complaints policy - get a copy and read it
- make sure you send your complaint to the right address
- include copies (not originals) of any documents supporting your complaint (such as receipts or other proofs of purchase, appointment cards, agreement letters, order forms, invoices and so on)
- give any relevant account or customer or invoice numbers
- be specific and keep to the point - give dates of events and briefly explain all the relevant circumstances surrounding your complaint
- be clear about what you want the company to do to resolve your complaint
- if the company does not have any set deadline for dealing with a complaint - set a reasonable deadline by which time you want the matter to be sorted out
- get evidence to support your claim, i.e. send a copy of independent technical reports with your letter
- keep a copy of your letters – you may also want to send your letters by recorded delivery
- act quickly - delaying can sometimes affect your rights
- don’t give up - write a reminder letter if you don't get a reply to your first one
What are the top ten complaining tips of the Official Complainer?
Commit your complaint to paper…
Commit your complaint to paper. If you have a complaint that cannot be resolved on the spot do not lose your temper, bang your fist on the counter and then shout in a ranting fashion at the lowly shop assistant. Revenge is a dish best served cold and you will be far better composing a carefully worded letter that sets out your problem clearly and concisely. A good complainer’s objective is not to get mad but to get even and the best way of doing this is in writing. The pen is more powerful than the sword.
If you are aggrieved you should treat no wrong too small…
If you are aggrieved you should treat no wrong too small to warrant a complaint. If you feel like registering a complaint, get it off your chest, get it on to a piece of paper and get it into a post-box. Do not bottle up your anger. Do I practice what I preach? My smallest complaint ever concerned an ant. London Zoo operates a scheme whereby you can adopt an animal for an annual fee. You get a photograph of the beast and a certificate. Elephants, for example, are very expensive. As an appropriate present for a tight-fisted relative, I decided to adopt the cheapest creature available: a wood ant, priced at £15-00. Imagine my horror when I received a certificate for the wrong kind of ant: a soldier ant. Did I bother to complain? Can Delia cook?!
Know the location of head office…
I am frequently asked how to find out the location of a particular company's head office. There are a number of ways. The head office address often appears in small print on documentation you might ordinarily ignore - tickets, menus, term and conditions and brochures. A local branch office is always a good bet - ring up the Orpington office of Bloggs & Company and ask them for the particulars of HQ. Other rich veins of information are the Internet and directories (available in your local library). If all else fails, for a small fee, Companies House (the official source of all company information) will reveal all by post or by fax.
Do not fear large and powerful companies…
Do not fear large and powerful companies or the people who run them. It is a conditioned reflex with most people to believe that letters written on important-looking notepaper or information generated by computers must be right. Not so. You should believe no one and accept nothing.
Get the complaint off your chest…
The mere act of writing a letter gets the complaint off your chest. Complaining purges your soul by dispelling the evil spirits which, if left unchecked, will gnaw away at your mental well-being. By not complaining, you store up a guilt complex about what you should have done and you will be reminded at an opportune moment (if your spouse doesn’t do it for you) that it really isn’t good enough to sit on your backside doing nothing. By taking up the cudgels you take destiny into your own hands. Think of it as vigilantism by correspondence.
Swearing is fruitless…
Swearing is fruitless. Whether you complain on the spot or in writing (I strongly advocate the latter), expletives should always be avoided. Swearing is indulged in by witless whingers whose brawn tends to far outstrip the capacity of their brains. It is quite wrong to assume that an employee of Marks & Spencer or Dixons will respond better just because the account of your grievance has been embroidered with colourful references to the human anatomy. A stream of invective will generally produce the very opposite of a positive reply. The cunning complainer prefers to express his or her complaint by using plain but essentially polite language.
Do not worry about your legal rights…
When formulating your complaint, do not worry about your legal rights. A wealth of consumer protection legislation exists in this country for the benefit of anyone buying goods and services. Big companies are only too aware of these laws whereas the detail at least remains a mystery to most consumers. There is no reason to worry about this. If something is wrong, common sense will tell you that it is wrong. There is no reason to not complain just because you are unsure about your legal rights. On the contrary, you will often find that reputable companies will compensate you to an extent which far outstrips the legal obligation to do so. Why? Because they value loyal customers and are constantly striving to improve the quality of their products.
No institution is too big or too important…
No institution too big or too important to receive a letter of complaint. Many people might, for example, regard The Post Office as an impenetrable fortress, impervious to the wishes of its customers. Behind the grey corporate façade lurks a human being with human emotions. Governmental bodies and multinational companies might seem to be unfathomable bureaucracies incapable of responding properly to a complaint. This is not necessarily so. This is a free country and for the price of a first class stamp you can write to whoever you like. Fear nobody.
The scatter-gun method…
Sometimes it is worth complaining by what I call the scatter-gun method. Instead of writing one letter of complaint to the Managing Director, I will write exactly the same letter to the Chairman and one other Main Board Director as well. I will not reveal this fact to any one of them. The benefit of this approach is twofold. First, you increase your chances of finding an interested Director by 300%. Secondly, even if the three work out what has happened and pass the buck to Customer Services the complaint will definitely be taken very seriously. On one occasion I complained to three Directors of a large electrical retailer about a defective hi-fi. The first told me that he could not assist. The second offered a 10% discount on my next purchase. The third offered a full refund. I took the third option!
Keep the evidence…
Keep the evidence. You do not need me, Miss Marple or Inspector Morse to tell you that evidence is important. If you go on holiday and have a thoroughly rotten time it is an excellent idea to photograph the half-constructed building site next door or the cockroach family sharing your apartment. Why not take a video and send that to the Managing Director for him to view at his leisure? Similarly, it is no bad thing to send offending goods to the company concerned - give the Chairman a hot potato and he is more likely to deal with it. In fact, even if your complaint is about a hot potato, why not send The Spud from Hell back to its maker? When I found human hairs in a "ready meal" once, I did precisely that - after photocopying the hairs of course!
What other advice can you give me?
You can try the following links for helpful advice on how to make a complaint:
- www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/callist.cgi
How to make a complaint about goods or services