Consumer rights · contracts · data · credit · complaints

Consumer problems are rarely just one thing.

ConsumerShield helps you work out what applies, what the records show and what to do next.

A refund dispute can become a contract question. A billing issue can affect your credit file. A subject access request can expose an evidence gap.

01 Understand the rule 02 Test the record 03 Choose the route

Start with the problem

01

What are my rights?

Answer the questions that actually change the legal or complaint route. See why each question matters, what evidence to gather and what to do next.

20 guided pathways94 result routes
Check my situation

Start with their answer

02

They said this…

Search common reasons organisations give consumers. See whether the statement is correct, misleading or simply wrong — and how to answer it.

96 rebuttals12 problem areas
Test what they said

Browse by subject

Start with the area you recognise.

Thirteen subject hubs bring together the relevant guides, practical steps, templates, tools and official references.

01Rights

Consumer Rights

Goods, services, digital content, refunds, repairs, guarantees, unfair terms, misleading descriptions and distance selling.

Refunds & returnsFaulty goodsServices
02Agreements

Contracts

Formation, terms, cancellation, breach, variations, verbal agreements, online contracts and misrepresentation.

FormationTermsProving an agreement
03Information rights

Data & Privacy

UK GDPR, DPA 2018, SARs, rectification, erasure, restriction, accuracy, data breaches and ICO complaints.

SARsAccuracyICO complaints
05Money & reporting

Credit & Finance

Credit files, arrears, defaults, disputed balances, CRAs, CCA, PRAAD, FCA, FOS, Section 75 and chargeback.

DefaultsPRAADSection 75
06Connectivity

Telecoms & Broadband

Billing, contracts, switching, cancellation, service failures, credit reporting, complaints, Ofcom and ADR.

Billing disputesDefaultsADR
08Government & councils

Public Bodies

FOI, EIR, internal reviews, council complaints, LGSCO, public-sector data rights and maladministration.

FOIInternal reviewsLGSCO
10Ready to use

Templates

Structured letters, complaint frameworks, challenge schedules and evidence documents.

11Interactive

Tools

Deadline calculators, evidence checklists, trackers, route finders and response audits.

12Understand

Knowledge Hub

Plain-English explainers for legal frameworks, evidence, proof, redress and decision-making.

13Reference

Resources

Legislation, regulators, ombudsmen, industry codes, standards, glossaries and official sources.

Start with your relationship

What connects you to the organisation?

Complex problems are easier to route when you first identify the relationship: customer, account holder, tenant, employee, data subject or user of a public service.

I bought goods or servicesCustomerI pay for an ongoing serviceSubscriberI bank or make payments with themAccount holderI borrow or use creditBorrowerI rent or live in housing they manageTenant / residentI work for themEmployee / workerI deal with a council or public bodyService userThey hold or use my personal dataData subject

Featured guidance

Useful when the detail matters.

Browse all guides
Data & Privacy

A SAR response is not complete just because a company says it is.

How to compare the request with the response, identify missing categories, understand exemptions and challenge gaps methodically.

Read the guide
Credit reporting

Default notices, default reporting and PRAAD are not the same thing.

Understand the different frameworks before arguing the wrong point.

Understand PRAAD
Complaints

Build a chronology that can survive scrutiny.

Turn emails, calls, records and documents into a clear factual sequence.

Build a chronology
Decision quality

When a response answers around the issue instead of answering it.

Use a failure-to-answer analysis to separate disagreement from a genuine omission.

Audit the response

Practical tools

Work out the next step, not just the theory.

ConsumerShield tools are designed to help organise dates, evidence, routes and responses before you escalate a dispute.

01
SAR deadline calculator

Calculate the ordinary response deadline and understand common timing issues.

 02
FOI deadline calculator

Work through the standard working-day response period.

 03
Complaint timeline builder

Turn correspondence and events into a clean chronology.

 04
Regulator & ombudsman finder

Find the likely external route based on sector and complaint type.

 05
Evidence checklist

Check what you have, what is missing and what deserves preserving.

 06
Response audit

Compare the questions or issues raised with what was actually answered.

Templates

Start with structure. Add your facts.

Templates should help you organise an argument, not encourage copy-and-paste complaints that ignore your own evidence.

Browse all templates
Formal complaintGeneral Subject Access RequestData & Privacy Missing SAR data challengeData & Privacy Credit-file disputeCredit & Finance Ombudsman complaintEscalation Decision challengeOutcome review Failure-to-answer scheduleEvidence Complaint chronologyEvidence

Understand the process

Most disputes become easier when you know what stage you are actually at.

Learn about complaint scope
  1. 01Identify the issue

    Separate the core complaint from every surrounding frustration.

  2. 02Establish the framework

    Work out whether the key source is law, contract, regulation, guidance or a code.

  3. 03Build the evidence

    Chronology, documents, records, missing material and contradictions.

  4. 04Use the internal route

    Make the complaint clear enough that an external reviewer can later understand it.

  5. 05Escalate properly

    ADR, ombudsman, regulator or court - where the route and facts justify it.

Who do I complain to?

The company, the regulator and the ombudsman do different jobs.

ConsumerShield helps you distinguish supervision, complaint resolution, enforcement and redress - and identify the route that actually fits your issue.

Find the right route
ICOData protection & information rights FCAFinancial-services regulation FOSFinancial complaints & redress OfcomTelecoms & communications regulation Communications OmbudsmanTelecom ADR Energy OmbudsmanEnergy complaints LGSCOLocal government & social care PHSOParliamentary & health service complaints

Knowledge Hub

The concepts that sit underneath hundreds of different disputes.

Useful when the problem is not just “what does the law say?” but “how should this evidence, process or decision actually be assessed?”

Law vs rules vs guidance vs industry codes Why records made at the time matter Accuracy vs disagreement What makes a decision properly reasoned? What “fair and reasonable” actually means in context Burden and standard of proof Regulator vs ombudsman Redress, compensation and putting things right

Go deeper

Problem and sector hubs.

Real disputes rarely stay inside one legal category. These hubs pull together the rights, evidence, tools and escalation routes around common problems and sectors.

Credit ReportingUnderstand arrears, defaults, credit-reference data, PRAAD, sector reporting, accuracy disputes and the routes through providers, CRAs, the ICO, FOS and ombudsmen.Information RightsA focused route through SARs, UK GDPR rights, FOI, EIR, public-sector information, deadlines, challenges and ICO escalation.Complaint EscalationMove from an unresolved complaint to deadlock, ADR, an ombudsman, regulator or court without losing the issue, evidence or deadline.Legal ServicesComplaints about solicitors and legal-service providers: service quality, professional conduct, conflicts, evidence, Legal Ombudsman, SRA and court routes.Energy & UtilitiesBilling, meter/account evidence, vulnerable-customer issues, credit reporting, supplier complaints and Energy Ombudsman escalation.Banking & PaymentsCard disputes, payment problems, Section 75, chargeback, scams, affordability and Financial Ombudsman escalation.Housing & RentingSocial-housing complaints, landlord complaint handling, property-agent routes, council boundaries and Housing Ombudsman/LGSCO jurisdiction.TravelConsumer rights in travel purchases, package holidays, airline/rail complaints, card remedies, ADR and court routes.InsurancePolicy disputes, claims handling, evidence, complaint responses, Financial Ombudsman and court options.Motor & VehiclesBuying a vehicle, finance, dealer disputes, misrepresentation, faulty goods, motor ADR and Financial Ombudsman routes.Scams & FraudPayment fraud, authorised push payment scams, bank complaints, evidence preservation, reimbursement routes and data/privacy consequences.Ombudsman HubCompare schemes, jurisdiction, decision stages and review routes.Court ActionUnderstand when litigation is appropriate and how to prepare.

Reference & official material

Go back to the source.

Legislation map Regulators directory Ombudsmen directory Industry codes & standards Consumer glossary Official sources

Why ConsumerShield exists

A confident answer is not the same as a correct answer.

Organisations usually know their own systems and complaint processes better than the consumer facing them. ConsumerShield exists to narrow that imbalance: understand the rule, establish what actually happened, test the evidence and challenge a position that does not add up.

If more consumers use their rights effectively, poor processes become harder for organisations to leave unfixed.

Why I built ConsumerShield