Your letter now starts with what happened

The first thing a complaints handler reads should be your case. Until this week, in most of our letters it was not. They opened with two sentences that could have been about anything: an “unacceptable experience”, being “extremely disappointed”, a matter that “requires your immediate attention”. Your facts came third.

What a letter opens with now

The first paragraph is what went wrong, when, how much it was, any order or account number you gave us, and what you are asking for. For a double charge, that reads like this:

I am making a formal complaint about a duplicate charge of £12.99 on 3 September 2026. I am asking for a full refund of £12.99.

The law has to fit the problem

A letter used to cite the first laws listed for the company’s sector, whatever you were complaining about. So a streaming service that took a payment twice was reminded that digital content must be of satisfactory quality, which is true and beside the point.

Now the law follows the problem. A billing error is about the price you agreed, and a payment you did not agree to is not owed. A parcel that never came is the retailer’s responsibility until it reaches you. A faulty sofa is a quality claim with a right to a repair, a replacement or your money back. Where we cannot tell, we cite less rather than cite wrong.