Complaints procedure

Making a complaint about us.

The complaints process

There are 3 stages to our complaints process:

Stage 1 – The team or our contact centre Stage 2 – Response from customer service team Stage 3 - Escalation to the Head of Service Delivery

Types of complaints we can help with

This process deals with complaints about the

  • accuracy of information on the companies register
  • level of service we’ve provided

There are separate procedures if you want to:

How to complain

Call the Contact Centre on 0303 1234 500 or e mail enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk. You can also contact the manager of the team you want to complain about.

Explain the problem, provide as much information as you can, and tell us what you want to happen.

If we can’t resolve your complaint, email complaints@companieshouse.gov.uk. You can also telephone 0303 1234 500 and ask to speak with customer services.

What happens next

A member of our customer services team will reply, in writing or by telephone within 5 working days.

If we can’t give a full response in this time, we’ll tell you what we’re doing and when you can expect a full reply. This might happen if your complaint needs more detailed investigation. We’ll give a contact name and a complaint reference number.

If you’re not satisfied

Ask us to review your complaint at the next stage of the process. You can ask the customer services team to escalate your complaint.

Senior customer service managers will review your complaint.

In some situations, we may not be able to help you. For example, this might be where you’re not happy about a legal requirement and escalation will not change the outcome.

At stage 3, the Head of Service Delivery will investigate.

This is the final stage and completes our internal complaints process.

If your complaint isn’t resolved, you can ask us to refer your complaint to the independent complaint adjudicators. You have to finish the internal complaints process before you can ask for this to be done.

Our customer services team can refer your complaint. We’ll tell you about this in more detail if you reach this stage.

Independent complaint adjudicators

The adjudicators only investigate complaints about:

  • level of service
  • mistakes
  • our complaint handling
  • appeals against late filing penalties

Your complaint must be less than 6 months old.

Further information on the independent adjudicators

If you’re not happy with the adjudicator’s decision, you can ask your MP to take your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

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