Complaints procedure

Last updated: 20 September 2026

If you are dissatisfied with an instruction, a delivery or this website, we would rather hear it directly. This page sets out how to complain and what we will do.

1. First step — tell us

Use the contact form and select topic Complaint. Include:

• Your name and the email used on the instruction
• The payment or file reference, if you have one
• What went wrong, and what you would like us to do (revision, explanation or refund)

If your complaint is in fact a cancellation within fourteen days of purchase, say so. That is handled under the refund policy and does not require a finding of fault.

2. Acknowledgement

We aim to acknowledge a complaint on a business day shortly after it arrives, and to give a substantive reply once we have reviewed the file. Complex linguistic disputes may take longer because a second linguist may need to read the source and the target.

3. What we can do

• Explain a decision or a passage
• Revise a demonstrated error of meaning, omission or figure
• Refund under the 14-day policy, or otherwise where the service was not performed with reasonable care and skill

We cannot require a third party (embassy, court, university, employer) to accept a file. Preference of style, where both renderings are professionally defensible, is not automatically a defect.

4. Data-protection complaints

Privacy requests and complaints about personal data should use topic “Privacy or data request”. You may also contact the ICO at ico.org.uk.

5. Escalation

If you are a consumer and remain dissatisfied after our reply, you may use the courts of England and Wales or, where applicable, another UK court that has jurisdiction. We are not a member of a statutory ombudsman for translation services. Alternative dispute resolution may be discussed if both parties agree.

6. Courtesy

We will deal with complaints in writing, in a professional register. Abusive or threatening correspondence may be declined; the underlying issue can still be restated calmly.