Supplier Ignoring Your Complaint? Prepare a Consumer Demand

Key takeaways

Confirm that this is a consumer-supplier dispute

The Consumer Protection Act does not apply merely because one party is unhappy with something bought or paid for. Check:

• who acquired or used the goods or services;
• who supplied them and whether that occurred in the ordinary course of the supplier's business;
• whether the transaction is exempt under section 5;
• whether the consumer is an individual or a juristic person and, if a juristic person, whether the current asset-value or turnover threshold affects coverage;
• whether the dispute concerns the goods or services, a separate credit agreement, insurance, medical services, property, telecommunications, motor trade or another regulated sector; and
• whether the contract selects an internal complaint, ombud, arbitration or notice procedure.

The correct route may depend on the supplier and subject. CGSO screens consumer goods and services complaints, but its current guidance excludes or redirects matters where another public regulation, industry code or ombud has jurisdiction. Credit, financial-services, motor-industry and other sector disputes may therefore need a different body. Do not address a generic “consumer demand” to the retailer if the legally relevant party and remedy concern a finance provider, insurer, manufacturer, installer or marketplace intermediary.

If the CPA's application is uncertain, describe the contract and facts without presenting a statutory remedy as settled. A lawyer can give a narrow coverage and route opinion before a deadline is missed.

Identify the correct supplier and reference

Use the supplier's registered or trading name as it appears on the invoice, contract or official record. Record the registration number if available, physical address, customer-care address and any notice address in the agreement. If a franchise, marketplace, payment processor, installer, manufacturer and retailer are all involved, state the function of each instead of sending the same accusation to everyone.

Add the identifiers needed to locate the transaction:

• order, invoice, account, booking, repair or job-card number;
• purchase, delivery, collection or service date;
• product description, serial or vehicle details where relevant;
• amount paid and payment reference;
• branch, website, salesperson or service centre; and
• the supplier's complaint or ticket number.

Do not include full bank-card details, passwords, identity-document copies or unrelated personal data in an ordinary email. Supply only what the recipient needs to identify and resolve the dispute, and use a secure channel for sensitive evidence where possible.

The consumer rights complaint pack can organise the supplier, transaction and communication record before the demand is drafted.

Separate the problem from the remedy

A useful demand does not jump from “I am dissatisfied” to “refund me in full”. It connects the facts to one available remedy.

Poor or incomplete services

Section 54 addresses the quality and timely performance of services, notice of unavoidable delay, the quality of goods used with the service and return of the consumer's property. Where the section applies and the required standard was not met, subsection 54(2) frames the response as remedying the defect in the service or refunding a reasonable portion of the price paid, having regard to the extent of the failure.

The demand should therefore identify the promised scope, what was performed, what was late, incomplete or defective, any opportunity already given to correct it, and how a requested partial refund was calculated. A full refund is not automatically proved by labelling the service “poor”.

Failed, unsafe or defective goods

Sections 55 and 56 contain a different framework. Section 56(2) can permit a consumer to return goods that fail section 55 within six months after delivery and direct repair, replacement or refund, subject to the Act's requirements and facts. Section 56(3) deals with a failure, defect or unsafe feature not remedied, or a further one discovered, within three months after a repair.

State the delivery date, first manifestation, report date, condition, use, inspection, each repair and what remains wrong. Identify the remedy selected and why the conditions for that remedy are said to exist. Keep the goods, accessories, packaging and repair records available unless safe storage is impossible or a qualified person advises otherwise.

The Supreme Court of Appeal's Motus Corporation v Wentzel decision illustrates why this detail matters. The outcome turned on the proved defects, repair and later complaint record, the statutory requirements for the claimed refund and the correct purchase amount. It does not mean that every defective product dispute has the same result.

Non-delivery, cancellation or another complaint

Non-delivery, a cancelled booking, direct-marketing transaction, lay-by, overcharge or unfair term can engage different provisions, time periods and calculations. Name the specific promise, statutory basis or contract term relied on. If the demand seeks repayment, show the amount paid, lawful deductions acknowledged, amount demanded and arithmetic.

Do not combine incompatible remedies casually. For example, demanding that work be completed, the entire price refunded and broad damages paid without explaining whether these are alternatives creates ambiguity. State a primary remedy and, where advice supports it, a clearly labelled alternative.

Build a compact chronology

Use dates rather than a long narrative. A sufficient chronology usually records:

1. agreement or purchase;
2. payment;
3. delivery or performance due;
4. defect, delay or other problem discovered;
5. first report to the supplier;
6. inspection, collection, repair, offer or refusal;
7. follow-up complaint and reference number; and
8. the last response or the date communication stopped.

For each entry, identify the supporting document. Do not state that the supplier “never responded” if an automated acknowledgement, partial offer or request for information was received. Describe what was received and why the complaint remains unresolved.

The NCC's current complaint page asks for the transaction or purchase date, date the dispute arose, proof of purchase, steps already taken and supplier communications. A demand file built around those fields can be reused if regulator escalation later becomes appropriate.

Use a clear demand structure

The final letter can remain short if its parts are complete:

1. Heading and reference: “Final consumer demand” plus the order, invoice or complaint number.
2. Parties: the consumer and exact supplier entity.
3. Transaction: what was bought or commissioned, when, where and for how much.
4. Problem: material facts in date order.
5. Previous complaint: when and how it was lodged, reference number and response or non-response.
6. Basis: the relevant contract term, warranty, CPA provision or other source, stated without exaggeration.
7. Remedy: the precise act and amount requested, including return or collection arrangements where relevant.
8. Response date: a clear calendar date and why that period is used.
9. Next route: a measured statement that the consumer will consider the appropriate ombud, regulator, tribunal, court or legal process if unresolved.
10. Attachments: a numbered list of only the records needed to assess the demand.

The published letter of demand template can supply the structure. Adapt it to the consumer transaction; do not treat placeholder wording as legal analysis.

Do not invent a universal deadline

There is no single seven-, ten-, fourteen- or fifteen-day period that makes every consumer demand valid. The correct period can come from the contract, a statute, court rule, industry code, ombud process or the urgency and complexity of the requested action.

For suppliers within the Consumer Goods and Services Industry Code, the supplier's internal complaints process and the CGSO route matter. CGSO's current process says that, after accepting a complaint within its jurisdiction, it contacts the supplier and asks it to try to resolve the matter directly within the first 15 business days. That is a step in the CGSO process; it should not be presented as a universal private-demand deadline for every industry and remedy.

Choose a reasonable calendar date that allows the particular supplier to investigate and perform what is requested. A refund to an existing payment method, a technical inspection and a complex service rectification may require different arrangements. If the contract or law prescribes a period, method or sequence, follow that instead.

Do not let the response date suspend another deadline. A demand does not automatically pause prescription, a chargeback period, warranty period, ombud time bar, court date or contractual notice window. Obtain advice promptly where a deadline may be running.

Preserve delivery and receipt

Read the contract's notice clause before choosing an address or method. A customer-care email may create a useful complaint record but may not satisfy a formal contractual notice requirement. Conversely, sending a demand only to an old registered address may not put the team capable of resolving it on notice.

Use an appropriate combination of:

• the formal address and delivery method required by the agreement;
• the supplier's published complaints channel;
• the email used in the existing complaint thread; and
• trackable physical delivery where legally or practically required.

Save the signed letter, attachments, sent email in its original form, delivery receipt, tracking record, read or portal confirmation, bounce notice and any response. Record who delivered a physical copy, where, when and to whom. Do not edit the final sent version after delivery.

If Small Claims Court is a realistic next route, the demand step is different. The Department of Justice says the current Form 4 letter of demand must be used and delivered by hand or registered post, with at least 14 days from receipt and proof of service. Confirm current forms, the operative monetary limit, jurisdiction and clerk requirements before assuming an earlier complaint email satisfies section 29.

Attach evidence selectively

Attach enough to make the demand verifiable:

• invoice, contract or order confirmation;
• payment proof with unrelated details redacted;
• delivery, return or collection proof;
• key photographs, inspection results or job cards;
• the earlier complaint and material response;
• the amount calculation; and
• a short index where the pack is longer than a few pages.

Keep the full evidence archive separately. A demand should not bury the decisive documents inside dozens of screenshots or repeat every customer-service exchange. Preserve original files and metadata; provide readable copies.

The consumer complaint checklist supplies a shorter control for proof, remedy and escalation records.

Keep the language accurate and measured

State what the evidence shows and distinguish fact from inference. Avoid insults, public-shaming threats, unsupported accusations of fraud or crime, and claims that an ombud or court “will” order a refund. Do not threaten a proceeding that cannot grant the remedy or that you do not intend to consider.

Useful language is specific:

• “I reported the failure on 3 June under reference X; the acknowledgement did not address the requested collection.”
• “I request replacement under section 56(2), subject to arranging return at the supplier's risk and expense.”
• “Please confirm by 30 July whether collection will occur and provide the collection reference.”

Avoid vague phrases such as “fix this immediately”, “you have broken every consumer law”, or “pay all damages”. Precision makes it easier to assess compliance and harder for the dispute to drift into a new version.

Treat safety, urgency and missing suppliers differently

Do not wait through an ordinary demand cycle if goods may be unsafe, personal safety is at risk, evidence is disappearing, a court or tribunal deadline has arrived, or urgent relief may be needed. Stop using potentially unsafe goods where appropriate, preserve the product and incident record, follow official recall or safety reporting channels, and obtain suitable advice.

If the supplier is untraceable, confirm the contracting entity, official registration information, trading address, payment recipient and marketplace records. The NCC publishes an untraceable-suppliers route, but a complaint or demand cannot produce payment from an entity that has no recoverable assets. Insolvency, liquidation or business-rescue facts can change the process and should be checked before escalating cost.

Decide the next route before sending

The demand should name only a route that fits the supplier and desired remedy. Section 69 of the CPA lists the Tribunal where direct referral is permitted, an ombud with jurisdiction, an accredited industry ombud, a provincial consumer court, another alternative dispute-resolution agent, the NCC and a court with jurisdiction subject to its wording.

That list is not a simple “send one letter, then choose anything” sequence. In Motus, the Supreme Court of Appeal noted the difficulty and conflicting decisions around section 69 and did not decide every hierarchy question. Check the sector, current jurisdiction, other proceedings and the relief each body can provide.

For qualifying consumer goods and services matters, CGSO currently requires the consumer to have tried the supplier first. It assesses jurisdiction, refers accepted complaints to the supplier and attempts resolution. Its current page says unresolved matters may proceed to the NCC or legal assistance. The NCC now uses an e-Services profile and asks for detailed transaction and prior-complaint evidence.

Do not lodge the same dispute simultaneously in multiple forums without checking the consequences. CGSO's current screening says it cannot assist where the same event or facts are, were or become the subject of proceedings in a court, tribunal, regulatory body or another ombud with jurisdiction.

If private advice is needed, agree on a defined task: identify the correct respondent and remedy, review the demand, calculate the claim, check the notice clause and deadlines, or select the forum. Verify a practitioner through the LPC search before sharing the complete file. The Lexuno lawyer directory is a discovery route, not regulatory proof or a guarantee of availability.

Record the response and close the demand stage

When a response arrives, save it and classify it:

• full acceptance with performance date and reference;
• partial offer requiring acceptance or rejection;
• request for inspection or further evidence;
• reasoned refusal;
• jurisdiction or wrong-entity objection; or
• no response by the stated date.

Do not treat a promise as completion. Reconcile collection, replacement, repair, credit, refund or payment against the demand and keep proof. If a settlement is proposed, check its release, confidentiality, return, payment and deadline terms before accepting.

If the demand remains unresolved, stop rewriting the same letter. Use the preserved record to enter the selected complaint or legal route, or obtain advice on the unresolved issue. The next step should be based on jurisdiction and remedy—not frustration.

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