How to complain about a company
Note – the following information relates to the investigation of companies that are actively trading, or which have ceased trading without entering into insolvency proceedings, using powers of investigation under the Companies Acts. For information on investigations into companies which have entered into formal insolvency proceedings see our pages on
Insolvent Companies
.
How to complain about a company?
Before making a complaint about a company, please make sure you have read the section about 'When can The Insolvency Service Investigate' and 'When The Service cannot Investigate'. Having read this, if you feel you wish to continue with your complaint there are various ways to do so:
Online Complaints Form
Please provide as much of the information asked for as you can, as this will give us the best start to considering your complaint and where we might go for further information. We appreciate that you may not be able to provide all the information requested, but any information you give will greatly help any enquiries that may be undertaken into your allegations.
When you have completed the form, click on the submit button. The following will happen automatically:-
- We will instantly receive a copy of your complaint.
- You will receive immediate confirmation that the complaint has been received.
- You will receive an acknowledgement by e-mail together with a copy of the completed complaint form and a unique reference number.
Click this link to open the complaints form.
Submitting complaints or intelligence by post:
Please send as much information as possible to:
Intelligence Hub
Intelligence & Enforcement Directorate
Investigation and Enforcement Services
Insolvency Service
3rd Floor Cannon House
18 Priory Queensway
Birmingham B4 6FD
Please provide the same basic information as required on our complaint form, otherwise we will only have to ask for it later. This could delay consideration of your complaint.
Alternatively, our email address for matters relating to live companies is:
Intelligence.live@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk
Contacting our Investigations Hotline
Our Investigations Hotline number is – 0845 601 3546. This is a 24 hour facility which allows you to leave your contact details so we can acknowledge your contact and send you the appropriate questionnaire. You should note that we do not routinely return calls.
Supporting documentation
You may have a number of documents that you feel support your complaint. This should not prevent you from using the online complaint form or make you feel that you must submit your complaint by post. The complaint form asks you to state what information you have, and our staff will call for relevant information when they consider your complaint. In fact, if your concerns are more appropriate for another public body, there may be no benefit (and unnecessary effort on your part) in sending the documents to us.
Can I complain anonymously?
There is no real benefit in doing so. We will treat any information you provide in strictest confidence. In particular, if we do investigate, we do not tell the company who has made the complaint or what we are looking at. If we decide not to investigate, we do not tell the company that a complaint has been received.
If your concerns are more appropriate for another public body, we would normally pass on your complaint. However, if you do not wish us to do so, please make that clear in your complaint.
Also, if you complain anonymously, we will not be able to obtain further information from you or discuss your concerns, and this could reduce the prospect of an investigation being commenced (by us or any other body).
What will happen to my complaint?
On receipt of a complaint:
- The information is assessed and a decision is taken as to whether the complaint is capable of being addressed by our powers, and also whether or not it is in the public interest to proceed. This may involve obtaining additional information however we do not approach the companies at this stage.
- Where we decide that there is sufficient good reason to investigate, and that investigation is in the wider public interest, we will appoint investigators under the authority of the Secretary of State.
- We may decide there is no basis for investigation (see section on "When can’t The Service investigate").
- We may decide not to investigate ourselves, but to pass the information to another public or regulatory body, which may be in a better position to investigate or act on your concerns.
- We issue press releases when action has been successfully completed.
Where investigators are appointed they will then call, often unannounced, at the companies premises to talk to the companies officers. They will ask questions of those who appear to be in charge and require sight of document which they feel will be useful in the enquiry, taking copies of anything they consider important. The investigator also has the facility to obtain electronic copies of information held on computers.
Investigators can demand detailed information not only from a company’s directors but also from other company employees and third parties who may be in the possession of relevant documents and information.
For further information see "How do you investigate corporate abuse?"
Insolvency Service Publications "Company Investigations - What we do (DOC, 822 Kb) "
