What to do if a company hasn't replied to your complaint

If you have complained to a bank, insurer, lender or other financial firm and heard nothing back, the clock matters. For most types of complaint the firm has eight weeks to send you a final response, and if it does not, you can usually take the complaint to an ombudsman. That service is free, and you do not need to pay anyone to act for you.

The eight-week rule is the backbone of the whole system. The Financial Ombudsman Service says a complaint goes to the company first, and that if it does not send a final response letter within eight weeks, or the response is unsatisfactory, the complaint can go to the ombudsman¹. Some complaints move faster than that: where a payment from your account is involved, the firm must look into things and get back to you within 15 days, either with a response or an explanation of why it cannot yet give one, and then send a response within 35 days².

What follows is what to do while you wait, when silence becomes a reason to escalate, which body handles which complaint, and what an ombudsman can and cannot do once it has your case.

How long a company has to reply to your complaint

The general answer is eight weeks. If your complaint does not involve a payment from your account, the business has eight weeks to respond¹. The same eight-week period applies to complaints about PPI, where a business has eight weeks to answer your complaint⁵, and to most types of insurance complaint, where the insurer has to give you its final response within eight weeks⁶.

Some complaints run to a shorter timetable. Where a payment from your account is involved, the firm must look into things and get back to you within 15 days, either with a response or to explain why it cannot yet give you one, and then has to send you a response within 35 days². That covers situations such as a frozen account or a blocked payment².

Away from financial services, timetables differ. Debt management companies are commonly asked to reply within 14 days⁷. If you are dealing with a phone or broadband provider, the point at which you can escalate is eight weeks after the complaint if it is unresolved⁸.

The practical point is the same in each case: note the date you complained, and count forward. That date is what you will be asked for when you escalate.

Chasing a complaint that has gone unanswered

Silence is not the same as a refusal, and it is worth a nudge before you escalate. Put your chase in writing, refer to your original complaint and its date, and ask for a response by a set date. Keep a copy.

If you are waiting on evidence, say so. Where a form asks what is outstanding, such as a letter from your doctor, put this on the form so the person handling the case knows it is coming⁹. The responsibility for providing evidence falls on you as the complainant, not on the body handling the complaint¹⁰.

If weeks pass with nothing, a phone call can establish what is happening. One consumer guidance source suggests that if you have not heard back after six weeks, ring and find out what is happening, and that after two or three months you could make an official complaint about the unreasonable delay¹¹.

Keep a simple record as you go: the date you complained, what you complained about, who you spoke to, and copies of letters and emails. That record is what an ombudsman will ask for if the firm never answers.

When you can go to an ombudsman: usually after eight weeks

The trigger is usually eight weeks of silence, or a response you disagree with. The Financial Ombudsman Service puts it plainly: complain to the company first, and if it does not send you a final response letter within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with its response, you can bring the complaint to the ombudsman¹. The same wording appears across its guidance on banking, insurance, credit and pensions complaints¹³.

That pattern is not unique to financial services. The Pensions Ombudsman says that if you are unhappy with a reply or the firm does not respond within eight weeks, you can submit a complaint¹⁴. The Claims Management Ombudsman can only look at a complaint if you have first complained directly to the claims management company and given it eight weeks to reply¹⁵. RICS, for complaints about firms it no longer regulates, treats a complaint as eligible for alternative dispute resolution where it has not been resolved after eight weeks, there has been no meaningful engagement, or the firm has not responded¹⁶.

There is a shorter route in some cases. A deadlock letter is where the company has accepted it cannot resolve your dispute and so will allow you to send your case to the ombudsman before the eight-week period has ended¹⁷. If the company refuses to do what you ask, or does not respond at all, you can ask for a letter of deadlock to show you have done all you can to resolve the complaint¹⁸.

Which ombudsman or complaints body handles your complaint

Most financial complaints go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which covers banking, payments, credit, insurance, mortgages, investments and pensions¹³. If you are switching bank accounts and are not happy with the answer you get, or the bank does not reply within eight weeks, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁹. The same applies to complaints about a bank, creditor or credit reference agency²⁰.

Some complaints go elsewhere. If the firm you want to complain about is not on the FCA Register, the complaint is referred to the Pensions Ombudsman¹⁴. Complaints about claims management companies go first to the company, then to the Claims Management Ombudsman¹⁵. Where the conduct of a claims company is the issue, the FCA also takes complaints²¹.

What an ombudsman can and cannot do for you

An ombudsman investigates complaints about organisations for free²². It is not a court, and it does not award whatever you ask for. It looks at the evidence, decides whether the firm acted fairly, and can tell the firm to put things right.

Some complaints only become eligible once something else has happened. For building warranty complaints, the ombudsman can only look at a case after the insurer has written a resolution or conciliation report, that report told the builder to do something by a deadline, and the builder failed to complete the works by the deadline or is insolvent or not co-operating²³. That is a good illustration of how eligibility can depend on the firm's behaviour rather than just the passage of time.

There is also a deadline on your side. You must complain to the Ombudsman within six months of getting the letter of deadlock, or from the end of the eight-week period if no deadlock letter was issued³. If you miss it, the ombudsman may still look into a complaint referred late if there are exceptional circumstances, even if the business has not given its consent²⁴. If a business agrees in its final response letter to the ombudsman looking at a late complaint, it cannot change its mind later²⁴.

Once a decision is made, the clock runs again. If the ombudsman does not hear from you within the specified timeframe, in most cases you will be treated as having rejected the decision and it is not binding on the business²⁵.

Where free help with a complaint is available

You do not have to pay anyone to pursue a complaint. An ombudsman investigates complaints about organisations for free²², and bringing a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service will not cost you anything⁴. You usually have the right to refer your complaint to the relevant ombudsman service for free²⁶.

If you want help drafting or organising a complaint, free options exist. You can make your complaint through Resolver, a free online service providing information and guidance on complaints²⁷. Insurance brokers point customers to the free complaints service run by the Financial Ombudsman Service²⁸. If you are complaining on someone else's behalf, there are separate rules on complaining for a relative or friend.

Claims management companies are not needed. You do not need to use one to make a complaint, and it is free to do it yourself²⁹. If you do use one and are unhappy, ask the claims company for a copy of its complaints procedure or check its website, contact the company with your complaint so it has a chance to put things right, and keep a record of your complaint²¹. Give the claims company up to eight weeks to deal with it, then escalate to the Claims Management Ombudsman if needed²⁹.

For general consumer problems, free consumer advice is available when a dispute with a firm stalls, and if you are in Northern Ireland the Consumer Council handles complaint help. Writing the complaint itself is easier with a clear structure, which is covered in writing an effective complaint letter or email.

What if the company has gone out of business?

A firm that has stopped trading or stopped serving customers changes the picture, but it does not always end the complaint. Some schemes accept cases precisely because a firm has failed to act: for building warranty complaints, the ombudsman can only look at a case once the builder has failed to complete works by a deadline or is insolvent or not co-operating²³.

If the firm you want to complain about is not on the FCA Register, the complaint should be referred to the Pensions Ombudsman instead¹⁴. Where a firm has failed and you are owed money, there are separate routes: if someone ignores a statutory demand or cannot repay the money, you can apply to a court to make someone bankrupt or get a company wound up³⁰.

If you are dealing with a firm that has gone out of business and you are unsure which body handles it, the ombudsman's own guidance on which scheme applies is the place to check before you spend time on a complaint that cannot be accepted.