Complaining to Retail and Shopping Regulatory Bodies

Originally written by Haydn Mullineux, updated by the editorial team on 4th April 2026

When a consumer buys a product or service they can feel safe and empowered in the knowledge that if anything goes wrong there are expert and influential organisations ready to fight in their corner.

The OFT

The Office of Fair Trading was established in 1973 and is now well recognised as the UK’s consumer and competition authority. It is a non-ministerial government department focused on maintaining a fair and consumer friendly marketplace.

It aids consumers by empowering them with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions and get the most out of their marketplace. It also endeavours to make sure that consumers have as much choice across the marketplace as possible, believing that with choice they hold real power.

Consumer Direct was formerly operated by the OFT but was replaced by the Citizens Advice consumer service in 2012.

Consumer Direct

Consumer Direct was a telephone and internet service that provided people with advice and information regarding consumer issues until 2012. It was funded by the OFT and produced in collaboration with Local Authority Trading Services.

Consumer Direct is a ground level service that connects with consumers on a one-to-one basis, absorbing information and intelligence that it then used to inform the efforts and campaigns of the OFT and Local Authority Trading Standards Services.

Consumer Direct previously offered clear, practical and unbiased advice on resolving consumer problems, but this service is now provided by the Citizens Advice consumer service.

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Single Contact Point

The advice is free but as the telephone service operates on a 0845 number callers must pay for each call they make. Consumer Direct’s reasoning for using a paid number is that it allows them to publicise one single recognisable national number, rather than a confusing variety of regional numbers.

This helps promote the grand Consumer Direct design of providing single contact point where basic enquiries can be dealt with immediately and more specialist issues referred the appropriate Trading Standards office.

Local Authority Trading Standards Services

The efforts of Trading Standards in sustaining and improving consumer protection, and maintaining fair trading and the safety of consumer goods, are represented by around 200 local council offices around the UK.

Trading Standards provides a wealth of information regarding customer problems and how to resolve them. It also informs consumers about their rights so that they can support their claims.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Specialist Trade Associations and Regulatory Bodies

If complaint concerns the services or products of a trader that is a member of a trade association, or one regulated by a professional body, then the overseeing authority may well be able to offer guidance in dealing with the problem.

Within the trading sector there are a great number of different associations to refer to depending on the type of service. For example there is a Hairdressing Council and a Radio, Electrical and Television Retailers’ Association. A list of associations is provided on the Trading Standards website. If this does not provide the appropriate regulatory body then the Citizens Advice Bureau will always be able to help.

First Steps

There are many different organisations that can help a complaint find its resolution but a problem should always be first of all taken to the service provider directly responsible. Many companies have their own complaints procedures and customer service departments that are focused on resolving customer problems, and most are a solved in this manner.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Which Ombudsman Do I Need? lets you tell us what went wrong and find out which ombudsman or regulator can help, whether it is worth escalating, and exactly how to take your complaint further. Try it now →

Showing 20 of 95 questions

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ComplaintExpert Editor 10/08/2026 at 11:00 am

@Ian Short answer Ian: no, it's not a breach. Retailers aren't legally obliged to accept online returns in store, and they can set their own returns postage charge as long as it's clearly stated in their policy before you buy. The Consumer Rights Act and the old Sale of Goods Act only really bite if the item is faulty, in which case they must cover return costs. For a change of mind return, your cheapest option is usually to ignore their prepaid label and post it yourself with proof of delivery.

Ian 10/08/2026 at 10:13 am

I need to return a low value item to retailer Sports Direct. Having now explored the 'returns process' I have discovered two conditions for returns.

I presented my returns item 'wrapped' to my local post office counters who weighed the item at 88grams and confirmed 1st class postage to designated address would be £1.80.
Yet Sports Direct want to charge me £4.50?
Upon learning this and further examination of their website and returns policy, that items ordered online cannot be returned to my local, any, Sports Direct store?

This is the first time that I have ordered anything online from any retailer that prevents you returning the item to one of its local stores. So in my experience this an extremely unusual practice and certainly one that doesn't serve the customer, treat customers fairly.

Can you please confirm if deliberate preventing of a customer returning items to a physical store, is in breach of my rights and, sales of goods act and Office of Fair Trading principles/charter.

Sparrow legs 07/12/2021 at 8:50 pm

It must be the time of year! Has anyone else noticed that on a beautiful sunny Summers day you find aggressive idiots on the roads? Well, at the joyous, happy time of Christmas it seems like all the poor trades people come out of the woodwork and, under the auspice of being a well known retailer, make mistakes and charge too much, fail to deliver etc and blame it all on the very customers who, without, these smug little know-alls would not have a job!

MichelleA 12/10/2021 at 11:26 am

I ordered several products from John Lewis and after several weeks of not receiving them, enquired about the order. I was referred to John Lewis's courier who provided evidence of delivery to an address that obviously wasn't mine (different door colour). I followed up with the Customer Service Team and asked for the order to be redelivered or refunded, I was told they could do neither as it was delivered to an address. Note that I did not give any instructions for this order to be delivered to another address. I escalated the matter within John Lewis and was politely but firmly told that John Lewis had fulfilled its obligations and I should go and check with my neighbour (even though they had no idea about the state of my relationship with my neighbour or my mobility) or write to my card company and ask for a refund. I pushed back on both suggestions as I believe it is absurd for John Lewis and its courier to have delivered my package to a wrong address and then expect me, the customer to take responsibility. When I did finally reach out to the neighbour in the supposed address it had been delivered to they had no knowledge of the delivery, So far John Lewis has been unable to give me a name or number of the contact person the package was supposedly left with and they are taking no responsibility. Not only is it content with leaving me out of pocket but it believes it is okay for me to expend additional time and energy pursuing this matter. It is further hiding behind the small print in its terms and conditions stating that its obligations have been met.

That a multibillion £ industry doesn't understand the basic principle of putting the customer at the centre of its operations is beyond me. Out of principle I wish to escalating this matter to the Office of Fair Trade via Consumer Direct as companies should be responsible for the length of their value chain, including customer receiving the goods they have ordered at the location they have provided

Royston 30/08/2021 at 4:20 pm

I have been banned from my local Aldi in Deal Kent.

Basically a female manager, banned me knowing I was going to complain about her. As she was verbally rude to me. . I initially asked if her if Aldi sold Sponge cake. She hatefully and aggressively answered back saying “ What did you say , I can’t understand what you’re saying”. I’m a minority in the town of Deal and a man of colour. I’m not one to play the race card but it does make you think. I hope for humanity her reaction wasn’t because of that.

Next day I went shopping there. The male manager on that day, plucked me from the queue asking me in a bolshy manner to leave the shop as I have been banned. This was highly humiliating.

I asked what for? He said aggressive verbal behaviour from the day before. Which was a blatant fabrication. Apparently there were witnesses which happened to be Aldi staff.

Hand on the Bible, I was not verbally aggressive in any way whatsoever.
This was in May. There was meant to be a review on the 1st August. I had to phone and write to them. I was totally ignored by area manager whom had asked me to get in touch They decided to remain with the ban?? Although I’d not been near the shop and kept my side of the bargain. They now say I’m banned for life. Yet I can visit other Aldi stores??

Til this day after many requests. Aldi have not sent me anything in writing to say why I was banned. Or any statements on their side telling what exactly I’m supposed to of done or said.

I feel my returning would be too awkward for them. As they know I have been persistent in my innocence.

What can I do?

marshy 22/06/2021 at 11:21 am

I ordered, online, a battery for my car, an S type Jaguar, after typing in the registration number. Car Parts 4 Less came up with a discounted battery with 2 hours left to buy at that price. It clearly stated on ALL invoices that it was for my car so, I went ahead and bought it. They said 3-4 days, it took 6. It didn't fit. Even on the delivery note it said "S Type 3.0". It went back and later I got a call from Euro Car Parts, saying they've got the correct battery for over double the price! I told them I ordered the correct (according to cp4l) battery, and I'm not paying. I missed the MOT, and am now a month behind. No apology from cp4l. What do I do now?

Chris 19/02/2021 at 12:58 pm

4yrs ago I ordered a dress from Fabletics. I ordered on line and ticked for VIP account not knowing what this really was. July last year 2020 - I noticed a deduction of £44 on my bank statement from Fabletics. I never realised they had been deducting £44 a month since Nov 2016. I thought that amount was for something else. Any way as soon as I saw that I contacted my Bank and they confirmed this. And yet the card it was deducted from was cancelled they were still able to deduct. I contacted Fabletics who instantly refunded 25 x £44 individual payments back to my Bank. They still owed my 17 x £44. They stated that I would have to spend on goods. So when I tried to - I was told I had to buy items that were at £44 only. At that time there were no items @ £44. If I wanted something that cost £100 they would deduct £44 but then I would still have to pay £56 from my Bank and yet there was all my money sitting there with them. So I left this for the time being. I contacted Retail Obudsman who stated I should contact Citizen Advice or small claims court. CA more or less called me an idiot. I then tried to place an order in January 2021. There were items at £44 reduced to £39. I tried to order different leggings n types and yet they still wanted to charge me £6 or £8 or £34 or £46 - and these were not delivery charges as delivery was free. i complained to Fabletics again stating that they are not allowing me to spend my money without them wanting to charge me - they refunded 1 x £44. They still owe me 16 x £44 - can someone help?????

Miz 07/01/2021 at 4:02 pm

I placed an order with Zara clothing company online early December. I received an email advising that the parcel had been handed to me a few days later yet nothing had been delivered to me. I called Zara customer services and was told that they would look into it and call me back. After 2 weeks I called again, and was advised that as yodel said they’d hand delivered there was nothing I could do. I asked for proof of delivery and was told they would call me back. Days later I called again, to be told that my parcel was delivered to a street (no address), near my house and that I should go knocking to see if I could locate the parcel. No refund nor replacement parcel and I am now £57 out of pocket!

Lisa 20/12/2020 at 10:06 am

I ordered Christmas presents from house of fraser online. Around £500. The order was apparently left on the street in a green box bin without a lid with a note posted saying it was in a safe place. The picture on my hermes app shows it left in an open box on the street. After hermes investigation it was concluded that the package was not in a safe place and I was to contact the supplier for a refund or replacement. At first I wanted replacement but this was over a month ago. I've had no reply, no resolution, I call customer services by phone every day and no one ever answers, I have sent around 30 emails at least, I have also contacted them via Twitter. I'm so worried, its christmas in less than a week and I have had to borrow money from family to but the gifts again and still dont know if or when I'm going to get my money back. House of frasee, such a big chain but not at all delivering a good service to their online consumers. Please someone help me or point me in the right direction.

Pammy 02/12/2020 at 12:56 pm

Hi
I am concerned about my local shop in Girdle Toll Irvine Ayrshire it is a cost cutter
This store has overcharged me on the last three times that I have visited it and I have been checking my purchases each time and every time he has overcharged me each time
He just doesn’t seem to care
This store is right next to sheltered house’s and I am concerned that he is doing this to the people that stay in there
My son came in last night and I could not believe he was also overcharged on two occasions it also has stock that is out of date
I will definitely not go back to this store

wembley 23/11/2020 at 11:09 am

My step-daughter purchased a jacket from the ZARA store in Maidstone, Kent. Given the Covid restrictions she wasn’t’ permitted to try the jacket on instore. When she got home she tried it on, unfortunately it didn’t fit. When returning the jacket (30 minute drive) she was told that as she had misplaced her receipt she couldn’t have a refund or credit note. They acknowledged that they sold the jacket she was returning but for all they know, they said she could have stolen it!! This policy of no refund without a receipt was not displayed at the point of sale (the sales till) nor was it displayed anywhere. When I asked about this they said it was on their website and the back of the receipt! Why ‘hide’ these important facts I ask. Customer Services agreed with me but said they could do absolutely nothing. DO NOT SHOP AT ZARA stores, they are cheats!!!!

C24 16/10/2020 at 6:07 pm

I stay locally near a corner shop I have been saying to them for months about getting a job they are discriminating against my height and I was told by someone who already works in the shop that I wouldn’t get hired because “I am too small!” What should I do?

L 22/09/2020 at 5:50 pm

I have just been to The Bottle & Basket in woking on the Hermitage road. I opened a Diet Coke and it was completely flat, I went in and asked for another, I opened it in front of the lady & that to was flat. She slammed my money down and I was saying she will need to complain to her supplier. She started screaming at me why had I opened the diet cokes. The husband then started shouting at me saying I am ripping them off. He pushed the door close & wouldn’t let me leave the premises until I yelled at him to release the door. He then proceeded to give me the middle finger as I ran away and he swore several times, whilst using the middle finger.I am utterly disgusted & shook up. I will never go there again and would recommend no one else does!

Me me 07/04/2020 at 10:33 am

Hi ive been to my local shop to buy a few bits of shopping 3 times Ive been overcharged and they seem to be adding products on i havnt got .Have had to go back a few times when you only suppose to go out once its disgusting in these times the shop is costcutters Ardgowan road SE6

Aaty 24/03/2020 at 7:29 pm

Hi our local asian shop, namely worldwide foods in old trafford are taking advantage of the current crises and are overcharging on everything. I understand this is the same with all their branches. Also i believe they are takin advantage of their staff and pay them only £5 an hour.

San 20/03/2020 at 4:42 pm

I’ve just been to an Asian shop in Wolverhampton and the prices are 3/4 times higher then normal. Just two rolls of toilet paper for £2.49 and four for £7.99. It is disgusting! Should they be allowed to do that by law in this country?? They are criminals because they are looting people in crisis. Please do something so that people on low income can still be able to feed their families and children. These shop keepers suppose to help their community not ripping them off.

Oxford20 20/03/2020 at 12:46 am

Hi all meat and grocery shops in oxford are overcharging prices 3 / 4 times higher then reasonable prices ( oxford meat centre, s&s greengrocer etc) .. . its hard to survive because of these kind of ripping off .. when they knew that we have to buy meat and other stuff to feed our children because of the halal food issue... on top of that they never give detailed receipt with the product, amount and price on it. When asked they argue or simply said they can only give a counter machine printed receipt.

Aleesha 19/03/2020 at 7:26 pm

Grocery shops in Hayes town, and uxbridge road. Are charging 3 to 4 times high prices for meat and other grocery items. Plz do somethng

Sammeh_T 06/02/2020 at 12:31 pm

Purchased a new stroller from Argos yesterday, via click and collect. Opened the box today and there’s a funny smell, and upon further investigation we find a bag of what looks poo in the basket underneath. Spoke to Argos help who simply apologised and said take it back to the store. Surely they should be doing more, it was sold and brought as new and its toxic waste.

Andy 11/08/2019 at 1:12 pm

Our local corner shop has now 3 times tried his luck over charging me. First time I gave him the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe he’s made a mistake and questioned it. The second time I questioned it again and but, this time wasn’t so sure it was a mistake and the next time I went in I was very vigilant. The third time I totted up in my head what my bill would be and low and behold it was more that I had got it to so asked for an itemised receipt and on there was £3.00 paypoint charges (gas and electric cards) and £2.58 confection charged.
He tried to fob me off by saying he’d scan an item twice which of course complete nonsense. Can anyone give me any information on who to report this to because I don’t want him ripping off the local community and getting away with it.
Thanks in advance.

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