Start with the sector and the outcome you need.
Some external bodies resolve individual disputes. Others regulate markets or professional conduct. Some complaints have a statutory internal review. The first task is to identify which route can provide the outcome you are asking for.
| Sector | Internal route | Independent or regulatory route |
|---|---|---|
| Retail goods and services | Trader complaint, then ADR where available | Sector ADR if applicable, payment protection, court |
| Advertising and promotions | Trader complaint for the individual remedy; ASA complaint for the advert | ASA for advertising compliance; trader, card, ADR or court route for redress |
| Consumer enforcement | Citizens Advice consumer service in England and Wales | Suitable intelligence may be referred to Trading Standards; this is not a refund route |
| Financial services | Complain to regulated firm | FOS for eligible individual disputes; FCA for regulatory intelligence |
| Telecoms | Provider complaint | Communications Ombudsman or CISAS after deadlock or applicable waiting period; Ofcom regulates the sector |
| Energy | Supplier complaint | Energy Ombudsman after deadlock or the current waiting period; Ofgem regulates the market |
| Data protection | Data protection complaint to organisation | ICO, with court remedies also potentially available |
| Legal services | Firm complaint | Legal Ombudsman for service redress; SRA for regulatory conduct where relevant |
| General council services | Usually Stage 1 then Stage 2 | LGSCO, subject to jurisdiction and completion of local process |
| Children’s social care | Statutory three stage procedure where applicable | LGSCO |
| Adult social care | Statutory single stage framework | LGSCO |
| Social housing | Landlord Stage 1 and Stage 2 | Housing Ombudsman |
| NHS England | NHS complaint process | PHSO after local resolution where eligible |
| FOI and EIR | Internal review where applicable | ICO, then tribunal routes for certain decisions |
General consumer enforcement
ASA and Trading Standards serve different enforcement roles.
For an advertising issue, the Advertising Standards Authority can assess the advert under the CAP or BCAP Codes, while the trader, payment, ADR or court route deals with your individual remedy. For a general consumer-law or unsafe-trader concern in England and Wales, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service. It can provide advice and pass suitable intelligence to Trading Standards. A referral does not guarantee an investigation, update or refund.
Financial services.
Most regulated financial complaints give the firm up to eight weeks to issue a final response. Certain payment services, fraud and electronic money complaints have a shorter 15 business day response regime, with a limited 35 business day longstop in specified circumstances. A consumer can normally approach FOS after the relevant deadline or final response and should pay close attention to the referral deadline stated in that response.
Telecoms and energy use different clocks.
Telecom ADR access moved to a six week waiting period for relevant complaints raised from 8 April 2026, unless deadlock is reached earlier. Energy currently continues to use an eight week supplier period or earlier deadlock, although government policy published in 2026 proposes moving the energy window to six weeks and implementation should be checked at the time of complaint.
Public bodies require route identification before escalation.
An ordinary council service complaint may use a two stage structure, but children’s social care, adult social care, social housing, FOI, EIR and statutory appeal decisions can use different procedures. The name of the organisation does not determine the procedure. The function being exercised does.
Regulator and ombudsman are not synonyms.
A regulator such as FCA, Ofcom, Ofgem, ICO or SRA may set rules, supervise organisations and take enforcement action. An ombudsman or ADR body may be able to resolve an individual dispute and award or direct redress within its scheme. A consumer may sometimes have reason to contact both, but for different purposes.
Create a route map in the case file.
Useful format.
Issue | internal route | external body | earliest referral date | final referral deadline | remedy available | source link.
Update the map whenever a final response or new issue changes the route.
Some disputes genuinely straddle sectors.
A handset dispute can involve telecom service, regulated device finance, credit reporting and data protection. A solicitor dispute can involve service redress and regulatory conduct. Split the issues by jurisdiction instead of forcing the whole case into one body.
Identify three things before escalating.
- Who is the respondent legal entity?
- Which body has jurisdiction over that respondent and subject matter?
- What event opens the external route: final response, deadlock, elapsed time or completed internal stages?
Those questions prevent wasted referrals to a regulator or ombudsman that cannot accept the case.
Do not assume every sector uses the same “eight weeks then ombudsman” model.
Complaint gateways differ and change. Telecom ADR moved to six weeks for complaints raised from 8 April 2026. Legal Ombudsman service complaints generally use an eight-week internal period. Financial-services complaints have their own DISP rules and final-response framework. Public bodies can use statutory complaint stages or specialist ombudsmen.
Use the current official scheme page each time you advise on a deadline.
Official and primary sources
Check the live rules for your route.
- ASA, make a complaint
- Citizens Advice, report to Trading Standards
- FCA, how to complain
- Ofcom, alternative dispute resolution
- Energy Ombudsman, our process
- ICO, make a data protection complaint
- Housing Ombudsman, waiting for a final response
- Legal Ombudsman, complain to your service provider
ConsumerWise explains these materials in plain English. Check the live source where a deadline, rule about what the body can deal with or legal requirement may have changed.