Put a clear complaints handling policy in writing

The legal and operational problem is often inconsistency. If complaints are handled differently by email, phone, social media and in-store staff, customers can receive mixed messages about refunds, escalation or response times. A written policy gives your team a single reference point and helps show customers how concerns are meant to be handled. It is particularly useful for businesses with recurring customer contact, online sales, promotions or service issues. This service covers the policy document itself, not day-to-day management of live complaints or dispute representation.

A complaints handling policy will usually set out how a customer can make a complaint, where complaints are received, who reviews them, when they are escalated and how outcomes are communicated. Depending on the business, it may also address record keeping, response expectations, privacy handling, refund-related complaints and complaints about pricing or promotional statements. The document should match the way your business actually routes and resolves customer issues. A policy that looks polished but does not reflect your workflow can create more confusion rather than less.

A complaints handling policy is about the process for receiving, assessing and responding to customer concerns. A consumer promise or refund policy is more about the business position on remedies such as refunds, repairs, replacements or service re-performance. In practice, the two documents often interact, but they do different jobs. This page is intentionally centred on the complaints process document itself, rather than a broader advisory review of your customer remedy settings. If you need both documents aligned, we can discuss that as part of the wider legal work.

Yes, if those issues form part of your customer complaint landscape, the policy can address how those complaints are received and escalated. For example, customers may complain about eligibility, prize descriptions, campaign wording, offer deadlines or how a promotion was administered. Where promotions are involved, the terms need to reflect the actual promotion mechanics and prize structure. Permit requirements can vary depending on where and how the promotion runs, and promotion rules may depend on the mechanics and location of the competition. Drafting the promotion terms themselves is usually separate work.

Useful material includes your current complaint channels, any existing policy or customer-facing wording, examples of common complaint types, and a clear picture of who handles complaints internally. It also helps to know whether issues commonly relate to refunds, service quality, pricing, advertising statements or promotions. If customer information is collected during the complaint process, that may affect how the policy is worded. The more accurately the document reflects your real complaint pathway, the more useful it will be for staff and customers once it is in place.

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