Financial Services Complaint Log

Who this is for

Keep the whole timeline of a complaint against a financial firm. The milestones from first contact to final response and any ombudsman referral each get a date and reference, every call and letter goes in the log with who you dealt with, and the sheet counts the days since your formal complaint.

Customers with a complaint against a bank, building society, insurer, lender, pension or investment firm, about a charge, a claim, a product or the service, and anyone helping a relative with one.

What this helps you track

• What the complaint is about and the outcome you want
• The date of the formal complaint and the reply date the firm gave
• Each call, letter and email, with the person and the reference
• Acknowledgement, final response and ombudsman referral dates
• The days since the formal complaint at every step

How to use it

1. Write the firm, the product, the last few digits of the account and the outcome you want, then the date of your formal complaint and the reply date the firm gave you.
2. If you first raised it by phone, put the complaint in writing as well and keep a copy.
3. Log every contact as it happens: the date, how, who you dealt with, what was said or sent, and any reference.
4. Fill in each milestone as it is reached; Days counts from the formal complaint in the browser and the workbook.
5. If the final response does not settle it, or does not arrive, check which ombudsman or complaints body covers the firm where you are and how long you have to refer it.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How long does a firm have to reply?

That depends on the rules where you are and the kind of firm, so the sheet gives no period. Ask the firm or read its complaints procedure, and write the date it gives you in the reply due field.

Why put a phone call in writing?

A written summary sent to the firm after the call gives both sides the same record of what was said. Log the call and the follow-up letter or email as separate lines.

What is a final response?

The firm's last word on your complaint, usually a letter saying whether it is upheld and what it will do. It normally explains how to take the complaint further. Record its date in the milestones.

How is this different from the credit report dispute tracker?

That tracker follows corrections to entries on your credit file, one line per entry. This log follows a single complaint against one firm through its milestones to a final response and any ombudsman referral.