Examples and cases

Check the registration date: the 30-day period runs from it, not from the day you sent the letter. If the deadline has passed and you were not notified of an extension, write again, give the number and date of the first appeal and ask about the outcome. If that does not help, the failure to act can be challenged before a higher body, the prosecutor’s office or the court.

List the questions from your appeal and mark the ones left unanswered. In a new letter, refer to the first appeal and the reply you received, and list what was not addressed. If the brush-offs continue, challenge them before a higher body or through another procedure that fits your situation.

This happens when the issue is outside the addressee’s competence. By law, within seven days of registration the appeal is sent to a body that can resolve it, and the author is notified (Art. 8(3)). Keep the notice and from then on wait for a reply from the new addressee.

The law prohibits sending a complaint for review to the body or official whose decision or action (or failure to act) is being challenged (Art. 8(6)). If you addressed the complaint that way yourself, it is wiser to send it straight to a higher body or use another route of appeal.

This is no longer an appeal to a public body, so reply deadlines are set by law or by the contract. Make sure you have a copy of the claim with an acknowledgment of receipt or a return receipt. If there is no answer, the next steps are an appeal to the body that oversees consumer rights, or the court; the details depend on the circumstances.

Write a short supplement, refer to the registration number and date of the first letter and enclose the missing copies. Do not retell the whole story: a supplement only needs what has changed or come to light since sending.