Complaints procedure

We aim to deal with members of the public fairly and properly. Let us know if you feel that we haven’t met that standard.

Read our complaints policy to find out how we deal with complaints from the public about our conduct.

If you suspect that a business has broken competition or consumer law, read our guide to making a complaint and what happens next.

Our standards for handling complaints about the CMA

We adhere to the Principles of Good Complaint Handling set out by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

We aim to:

  • answer all initial complaints within 30 working days of receipt – if it’s not possible for us to reply within 30 working days, we will explain the delay, answer any points we can, let you know when you can expect to receive a full reply, and keep you up to date with progress

  • answer all the points you raised, accurately and in plain English

  • answer all telephone calls (including complaints) within 30 seconds – if you leave a message, we aim to get back to you within one working day

  • be fair, courteous and helpful at all times, including letting you know who you are speaking to, if you ask

  • try to put you in touch with somebody else if we can’t resolve your enquiry directly

  • deal with any complaint in line with our published procedures

  • do everything we reasonably can to make our services available to all

We comply with all freedom of information and data protection requirements. We will give you reasons as appropriate if we cannot comply with requests for access to information.

Recording complaints and confidentiality

We will log all complaints we receive so that we can monitor the types of problems, the best way to sort them out and how long we are taking to deal with them. This also helps us to take a closer look at how we can improve our own service delivery.

All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2016.

We will not reply to rude or abusive emails, calls or letters.

How to make your complaint

You can make your complaint in writing, by telephone or email:

Telephone: 020 3738 6000

Email: general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk

You can write to:

Complaints Manager
Contacts Team
Competition and Markets Authority
The Cabot,
25 Cabot Square,
London
E14 4QZ

Users’ views

We improve our services by listening and responding to your views. We also welcome any comments or suggestions on our complaints procedure, to make sure it works as efficiently and effectively as possible. Send these to us at the address above.

Ask us if you would like a copy of our complaints policy in large print.

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