Complaints and disputes

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.

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.

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). 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.

Use this letter when a seller doesn't accept responsibility for a faulty item and tries to instead blame a manufacturer or developer. 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).

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 timeframe expected. This could mean not delivering by a specific date as set in your contract, or (if there is no specific delivery date) not delivering within 30 days.

In some circumstances, you must give the seller more time to deliver the goods. You can use this letter to make a final demand for delivery.

Note that this letter is not suitable if you bought the goods without any face-to-face contact with the seller (e.g. ordering online or from a postal catalogue), or if you have purchased intangible digital content, such as an app.

This document is suitable for goods purchased by a consumer (not a business) in the UK.

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.

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).

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.

Use this letter to complain about the poor quality of something you've bought. You can use it 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).

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.

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).

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

This letter is for situations where a person or business has said that you owe them money in relation to goods or services and you're in dispute over it. You can use it to try and settle the matter by compromising in order to prevent the matter going to court.

If you make a reasonable offer that's rejected and the issue goes to court, you'll have a better chance of any ruling about who pays the legal costs going in your favour.

You can use it if you've received a formal letter of claim, or in relation to an informal allegation or dispute about a debt. There are options to include details of any counterclaim you might have against the other party.

Use this letter to claim compensation from an airline or package seller for a flight delay or cancellation. You can also use it to claim compensation if you were denied boarding for your booked flight (e.g. because it was overbooked).

As well as compensation, you can also use it to claim a refund of certain expenses incurred as a result of the delay - e.g. food, drink, overnight accommodation. You can also request a refund of the ticket price, if you haven't already received it.

If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you can claim for flights that were disrupted up to 6 years ago. If you live in Scotland, you have 5 years from the date that you became aware of your right to make a claim.

Some airlines and sellers may have a particular claims procedure or form that you must use, but you can still use this letter to support your claim.

The questions will automatically assess what compensation or refunds you're eligible for.

Use this letter to complain to a hotel (or any other kind of guest accommodation) if any aspect of your stay:

• wasn't provided with reasonable care and skill; or
• didn't match the information you were given about it when you booked.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to use this letter to ask for any of the following:

• A full or partial refund
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Compensation for any loss of enjoyment you suffered from your trip.

Don't use this letter if:

• your stay was part of a package trip; or
• the hotel is outside of the UK.

If you booked a package trip with a provider operating in the UK, then you can use our Compensation claim about a package holiday instead (no matter where the hotel is).

Use this letter to complain about problems with a package leisure trip or holiday. If some of the services you were promised weren't provided at all or provided in an unsatisfactory way, you may be able to ask for any of the following:

• A full or partial refund
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Compensation for any loss of enjoyment you suffered from your trip.

Don't use this letter if:

• the trip was for business;
• you're complaining about a flight that was part of your package (use our Compensation claim about a delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight instead); or
• your trip doesn't come under the legal definition of a package (if you aren't sure, we've included guidance notes to help you work this out).

Use this letter to complain about poor service on any kind of train journey, e.g. normal day-to-day journeys, sleeper services or special leisure or 'experience' journeys.

Use it to claim a full or partial refund from the train company if any aspect of your journey:

• wasn't provided with reasonable care and skill; or
• didn't match the information you were given about it beforehand.

This could be any kind of problem. For example: overcrowding, broken toilets or aircon, or seat reservations not honoured.

You can also claim back any out-of-pocket expenses you incurred.

Don't use this letter if:

• your train journey was entirely outside of the UK (e.g. you can still use it if travelling between London and Paris);
• your train journey was part of a package holiday/trip (use our Compensation claim about a package holiday instead); or
• you were on a standard train journey (i.e. not a special excursion) and the only problem was a delay. In this case, the train company is likely to have its own procedure (e.g. delay repay) and you should follow that.

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.

Use this letter if you have been sold a faulty vehicle by a dealer. It sets out details of the faults and asks the dealer to repair the vehicle free of charge, referring to your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

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.

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.

Use this letter to demand compensation if you hired a removal company who damaged items of your property during a move.

By law, a business is required to perform a service with reasonable care and skill. The letter will allow you to select whether each damaged item should be repaired or replaced. Damaged property should only be replaced if it is not possible or economical to have it repaired.

This document is suitable for services purchased by a consumer (not a business) 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 if some or all or it remains unpaid after your tenancy ended. It applies to all residential tenancies in England, Wales or Northern Ireland where a deposit has been taken and should be used before starting a court claim (otherwise you risk the court refusing to give you an order for the costs of your claim).

If you have a tenancy where a deposit must be protected in a deposit protection scheme (such as an assured shorthold tenancy in England), the letter will lay out the consequences of failing to do this.

If it has been protected, the letter will warn the landlord of your intention to use the scheme's alternative dispute resolution service or take the matter to court.

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 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 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.

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.