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Timescales to respond

The entire complaints process takes 8 weeks or less.

1. Receive the complaint

   This is day one of the process.

2. Acknowledge receipt

   You should give customers an acknowledgement of the complaint as soon as reasonably possible and within 3 working days of receiving it.

   If your business offers 24-hour gambling facilities, you should give acknowledgement within 24 hours of receiving the complaint.

3. Investigate and issue a decision

   We encourage you to be open and transparent when handling complaints.

4. If the customer is satisfied with the outcome

   This is the end of the process. You should then issue a final response in writing.

5. If the customer is not satisfied with the outcome

   You may choose to put in place procedures so that the complaint can be escalated within the business.

   You must ensure that the entire complaints process, including any internal escalation, takes no longer than eight weeks from when you first received the complaint.

6. Write to the customer confirming the end of the process

   The letter should explain the final decision and that this is the end of the business’s complaints process. It should also explain how the customer can escalate their complaint to an independent ADR entity if they want to.

   The process ends if the customer’s complaint remains unresolved after eight weeks, or if you and the customer reach a deadlock or final position in less than 8 weeks.

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Escalating to an Alternative Dispute Resolution

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Last updated: 20 February 2023

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