Consumer complaints in Spain: returns, guarantees and utilities
For a purchase made online or away from the shop you have 14 calendar days to withdraw without giving reasons, and the model form in the Spanish Consumer Protection Act (TRLGDCU) is free; the notice of withdrawal also proves the date. A faulty product bought from a business has a three-year legal guarantee from delivery: first ask for repair or replacement and, if that fails, a price reduction or ending the contract. If an order never arrives, the shop had 30 days unless agreed otherwise (complaint about non-delivery).
Since 3 April 2025 (Organic Law 1/2025) a civil claim requires a prior attempt to negotiate: that is why the formal demand with an invitation to negotiate and the other complaints include that paragraph, with thirty days to reply, and are sent by burofax with certified content. For electricity, gas or water, the phone, a delayed or cancelled flight or an unauthorised charge, complain to the company first, then, free of charge, to the Telecoms User Office, AESA or the Bank of Spain.
The documents are in Spanish, under Spanish law, and each page describes its document in English. Each region's complaint sheet (hoja de reclamaciones), the model letters of the consumer associations OCU and FACUA and the consumer offices' forms are free; the complaint to the consumer office asks for mediation and, if you choose, consumer arbitration. The texts apply throughout Spain, are up to date as at 19 October 2026 and are not official documents: DocMuse is a private paid service and does not give legal advice.
The documents
16 forms available to fill out or download.
Complaint about a contract you never asked for or a switch without consent (Spain)
For a person in Spain whom an electricity, gas, phone or other company has signed up, switched from their supplier or charged for a service they did not ask for. The letter denies any consent, recalls that silence is not acceptance and that unsolicited supplies need not be paid for (art. 66 quáter of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), asks for the contract to be cancelled, a return to the previous company and a refund, and invites the company to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.
Request to cancel a phone, internet or TV contract (Spain)
For the holder of a mobile, landline, broadband or TV line in Spain who wants to cancel and not be charged any more. The letter tells the operator to end the services two working days after receiving it, asks for the reference number, the closing bill and instructions for returning the equipment, and that nothing be charged afterwards. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves the date from which the operator may no longer bill; you can also use any channel the operator offers. In Spanish.
Complaint to an insurer about a claim or a policy (Spain)
For an insured person or policyholder in Spain whose insurer refuses or delays paying a claim, pays less than it owes, overcharges or does not honour the policy. The letter files the complaint in writing with the insurer's customer service or customer ombudsman, a required step before the free complaints service of Spain's Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds (DGSFP), and includes the invitation to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.
Complaint to a Spanish consumer office (OMIC) with a request for arbitration (Spain)
This step is free on your town hall's or region's online office in Spain; you do not need DocMuse for it. For a consumer who already complained to the company and got no reply or no solution: a written complaint to the municipal consumer office (OMIC) or the regional consumer service asking for mediation and, if you choose, consumer arbitration. File it at the office, at any Spanish public registry or at a Correos post office as «correo administrativo». In regions with a co-official language the office must also accept it in that language. In Spanish.
Legal guarantee claim for repair or replacement (Spain)
For a consumer whose product, bought from a business in Spain, turned out faulty or not as agreed: the letter requires the seller to repair or replace it free of charge under the three-year legal guarantee that runs from delivery (arts. 114 ff. of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), within a reasonable time and without shipping costs. It includes the invitation to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before going to court. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves what was sent and when. In Spanish.
Claim for compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight or denied boarding (Spain)
For a person on a flight that arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled at short notice or on which boarding was denied: the letter claims from the airline the €250, €400 or €600 compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 for each passenger on the booking, and invites it to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. If the airline does not answer within a month or refuses, a complaint to AESA, Spain's aviation safety agency, is free and its decision binds the airline. Send it by burofax or through the airline's complaint form. In Spanish.
Complaint about a package holiday not as agreed (Spain)
For a person who booked a package holiday in Spain or with a Spanish organiser (flight and hotel, a cruise or an agency package) that did not go as agreed: a different hotel, excursions that did not happen, missing services. The letter claims from the organiser or the agency a price reduction for the days affected and compensation for damage (arts. 161 and 162 of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), and invites it to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content to the organiser or the agency that sold the trip. In Spanish.
Complaint to a phone, internet or TV operator (Spain)
For a customer of a mobile, landline, broadband or TV operator in Spain who disputes a bill, a lock-in period, a fault or a service not provided as agreed. The letter files the complaint in writing, asks for the reference number the operator must give, and makes the attempt to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. If there is no satisfactory answer within a month, the Spanish Telecoms User Office (OAUT) decides free of charge. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.
Notice of withdrawal from a distance or off-premises purchase (Spain)
For a consumer in Spain who bought online, by phone or away from the shop (at home or on an excursion) and has changed their mind: the letter withdraws from the contract within 14 calendar days, without giving reasons (arts. 102 to 108 of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), and asks for everything paid back within 14 days. The model withdrawal form in annex B of the TRLGDCU, which the seller must give you free, is enough on its own. This Spanish letter proves what was sent and when: send it by burofax with certified content, or attach it to an e-mail. In Spanish.
Claim for a price reduction or ending the contract over faulty goods (Spain)
For a consumer in Spain who already asked for a faulty product to be repaired or replaced and did not get it: the company did not do it within a reasonable time, refused, the fault came back or it is serious. The letter requires the seller to reduce the price in proportion or to end the contract and refund the money (arts. 119 to 119 ter of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), and includes the invitation to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.
Complaint about an online order that was never delivered (Spain)
For a consumer in Spain who paid for an order online or by phone and has not received it within the agreed time or, if none was set, within 30 calendar days (art. 66 bis of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU). The letter gives the shop an additional period to deliver, announces that the contract will be ended and everything paid refunded if it does not, and invites it to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content; if the shop only deals by e-mail, send it that way too. In Spanish.
Letter opposing the renewal of an insurance policy (Spain)
For the policyholder of an insurance policy in Spain (car, home, health, funeral or another kind, but not life insurance) who does not want it renewed: the letter tells the insurer that you oppose the renewal at least one month before the expiry date, as article 22 of the Spanish Insurance Contract Act requires, and asks that no premium be charged for the new period. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves that the insurer received it in time. In Spanish.
Notice of an unauthorised payment and request for a refund (Spain)
For the holder of a Spanish bank account or card showing charges they did not make or authorise: the letter notifies the bank of the unauthorised transactions without delay, as Spanish Royal Decree-law 19/2018 requires, and asks it to refund the amount by the end of the next working day at the latest and restore the account. It is addressed to the bank's customer service, which has fifteen working days to answer, and includes the invitation to negotiate of Spanish Organic Law 1/2025. Send it by burofax with certified content, after alerting the bank through its emergency channel. In Spanish.
Complaint to the electricity, gas or water company (Spain)
For the holder of an electricity, gas or water contract in Spain who disputes a bill, a meter reading, a disconnection, a price rise or the service received. The letter files the complaint in writing with the company's customer service, asks for its reference number and a written answer, and makes the attempt to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content; you can also send it through the company's complaints channel. In Spanish.
Formal demand to a company with an invitation to negotiate (Spain)
For a consumer in Spain whose contract a company is not honouring (a service badly done, a wrongful charge, a refund that never comes) and who wants to demand it before going to court. The letter describes the breach, requires the company to perform and, in the same letter, invites it to negotiate for thirty days: the prior attempt to negotiate that Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 has required since 3 April 2025 before a claim can be filed. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves what was sent and when. In Spanish.
Request to cancel a gym membership or subscription (Spain)
For a member of a gym or subscriber to a service in Spain (a platform, club, magazine or monthly box) who wants to cancel and stop being charged. The letter gives notice on the date you choose, recalls that the company must allow cancellation by the same means used to sign up and without obstacles or disproportionate charges (art. 62.3 of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), and asks for confirmation and for no further direct debits. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves the date. In Spanish.
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