Making a complaint against private industry

Different industries can have different ways of dealing with complaints. Find out who to complain to about private companies, radio and television channels and advertising, and how to prevent unwanted emails, faxes and telephone calls.

Industry ombudsman schemes

Many industries have their own ombudsman scheme or other complaint-handling body. These provide an independent and impartial means of resolving disputes outside the courts.

Each ombudsman scheme operates under slightly different rules but, in general, an ombudsman will not consider a complaint unless the organisation concerned has first been given a reasonable opportunity to deal with it.

The British and Irish Ombudsman Association provides a list of each of these complaint-handling bodies and their contact details.

Members - British and Irish Ombudsman Association website

Complaints about newspapers or magazines

The Press Complaints Commission is an independent body which deals with complaints from members of the public about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines. The service to the public is free to use and the Commission aims to deal with most complaints in 32 working days.

Complain to the Press Complaints Commission

Complaints about adverts

Each year, the UK public sees many millions of ads, direct marketing and digital communications about products, services, charities, causes and awareness campaigns. The vast majority are responsible and comply with the advertising rules. All advertising in the UK must comply with regulatory codes for the industry.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media, including marketing on websites. It works to ensure ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful by applying the Advertising Codes.

Advertising Codes - ASA websites

The types of complaints the ASA looks into include:

misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements
difficulty getting goods or a refund for items bought by mail order or through television shopping channels
promotions that are unfairly run or special offers that have left you disappointed
unwanted mail from companies sent either by post, e-mail, text message or fax
data capture and protection of privacy

You can find out how to complain to the ASA by visiting its website at the following link.

How to complain - ASA website

Complaints about the BBC or other television/radio channels

The BBC has its own process set up for dealing with complaints about the radio and television programmes it broadcasts. You will usually need to complain within 12 weeks of the programme transmission or event. The BBC website has details about the full complaints procedure and the BBC Complaints Code of Practice.

Ofcom - the UK regulator for television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications - deals with complaints about all broadcasters (including the BBC). You can also use their website to look up the contact details for specific broadcasters, if you would like to complain to them directly.

Reducing spam and email marketing

‘Spam’ is the common name for unrequested and unwanted email.

The responsibility for prohibiting the sending of spam lies with The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - an independent public body set up to promote access to official information and protect personal information. The ICO website provides general information about spam and gives advice about the steps you can take to prevent or reduce spam.

There are laws on email marketing which give you rights of privacy with respect to the processing and sharing of your personal data by companies.

If you believe you have been affected by a contravention of those laws - that your details were used or shared when they shouldn’t have been, for example - then you can contact the ICO’s complaints service. This gives you the right to ask the Commissioner to exercise enforcement functions.

Removing yourself from phone and junk mail distribution lists

The ‘preference services’ listed below have been set up by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from or added to lists used by the industry. It is free to register with each of them. - the Mailing Preference Service can remove your details from up to 95 per cent of direct mailing lists.

However, this will not stop mail that has been sent from overseas, or unaddressed material, or mail addressed to 'The Occupier'. You can also expect to continue to receive mailings from companies with whom you have done business in the past and you may also receive mailings from small, local companies.

It is unlawful for companies to make unsolicited direct marketing calls to individuals who have indicated that they do not want to receive them. You can indicate this either by contacting the companies directly and asking them not to call you or by providing your details to a central register called the Telephone Preference Service. There is also a similar service available to prevent unwanted faxes – the Fax Preference Service.