Making a Complaint
The Consumer Protection Office of the Velocity Interoperability Network handles complaints from consumers about traders supplying goods within the Velocity Interoperability Network. The service is free. You do not need a representative, and you do not need to know which rule you say has been broken; describing plainly what happened is enough.
The Office cannot order a trader to pay compensation. What it can do is establish the facts, state in writing what the consumer is entitled to, press the trader to provide it, record the outcome against the trader on the register of suppliers, and — where a product is unsafe — direct that it be withdrawn or recalled. In practice most traders provide the remedy once the finding is made.
Complain to the trader before writing to the Office
The complaints procedure. Every complaint follows the same five steps.
Step 1: Complain to the trader first
Write to the trader, describe the fault or the failure plainly, say what you want done about it, and keep a copy. Most complaints are settled at this stage. Give the trader fourteen days to reply before bringing the matter to the Office.
Step 2: Write to the Office
Send your name, the trader's name, what you bought, the date and place of purchase, the price paid, what went wrong, what you have already asked the trader to do and what the trader said in reply. Attach a copy of the receipt or order confirmation if you have one.
Step 3: Your complaint is registered
The Office acknowledges every complaint within two working days and gives it a reference of the form CPO/C/2026/0000. Quote the reference in anything further you send. If the complaint is one the Office cannot take, you are told so in the acknowledgement, with the reason.
Step 4: The Office puts the complaint to the trader
The trader is sent the complaint and asked to reply within ten working days. Where the complaint concerns the safety of a product, an assessment is opened at the same time and does not wait on the trader's reply.
Step 5: A finding is made and a remedy sought
The Office upholds the complaint, does not uphold it, or finds the facts disputed and unresolvable on the papers. Where a complaint is upheld, the Office asks the trader to provide the remedy the consumer is entitled to and records the outcome against the trader's entry on the register of suppliers.
Timescales. The Office works to the periods below. Where a complaint requires testing of a product, the finding may be given later than twenty working days; the Office writes to both parties to say so and gives a revised date.
| Stage | Period | Responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgement and reference issued | 2 working days | The Office |
| Complaint put to the trader | 3 working days | The Office |
| Trader's reply | 10 working days | The trader |
| Finding given to both parties | 20 working days from registration | The Office |
| Remedy provided where the complaint is upheld | 14 days from the finding | The trader |
| Reconsideration requested | 14 days from the finding | Either party |
Enquiries and complaints handled. The figures below cover the transition period from 10 August to 5 September 2026, during which member organisations transferred their complaint records to the Office. Work in hand at the point of transfer continued without interruption.
- 4,812
- Consumer enquiries handled during the transition period
- 1,376
- Complaints registered between 10 August and 5 September 2026
- 1,043
- Complaints resolved before establishment
- 11
- Median working days from registration to resolution
The commonest complaints, and how long each took to resolve, are shown below. Complaints raising a safety concern take longest because a product assessment is opened alongside the complaint and must be completed before the finding is given.
| Category | Complaints registered | Median working days to resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Goods faulty on delivery | 412 | 9 |
| Goods not as described | 298 | 12 |
| Goods never delivered | 241 | 14 |
| Refund refused after a valid return | 186 | 8 |
| Misleading price or charge added at checkout | 134 | 10 |
| Safety concern raised about a product | 105 | 16 |
What the Office does not handle. Four kinds of matter fall outside the Office's work. Where a complaint is one of these, the acknowledgement says so and, where possible, says who does handle it.
- Disputes between two traders
- The Office protects consumers. A dispute between businesses about a supply contract is not a consumer complaint, though a trader may of course notify the Office of an unsafe product it has been supplied.
- Matters already before a court or tribunal
- Where the same facts are before a court or tribunal, the Office does not investigate in parallel. It will resume if the proceedings end without the matter being decided.
- Complaints about a public service of the Network
- Complaints about the services of a department of the Network are handled by that department. The Office will pass such a complaint on and tell you that it has done so.
- Purchases made more than six years ago
- The Office does not register a complaint about a purchase made more than six years before the complaint reaches it, because traders are not required to keep records of supply beyond that period.
Complaints and enquiries should be sent to contact@consumer.gov.vin. Before writing, it is worth reading Consumer Rights, which sets out what you are entitled to and the period within which you may ask for it, and the frequently asked questions. If your complaint concerns a product already recalled, quote the reference from the recall register.