Complaint & Appeal: templates and forms

For a passenger whose flight departing from the EU, or arriving in the EU on an EU airline, arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled less than fourteen days before departure, or who was denied boarding. You ask the airline for the flat-rate compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, and for your expenses. Without a satisfactory answer, mediation has been compulsory before going to a French court since 7 February 2026. The airline's online form works too. In French.

For a traveller whose package holiday (flight and hotel, tour, resort) bought in France did not go as planned: a different hotel, missing services, cancelled transfers. The organiser and the retailer are strictly liable for performance of the package (Article L. 211-16 of the French Tourism Code); you ask for a price reduction for the period of non-conformity and damages (Article L. 211-17). The letter states whether you reported the problems on the spot. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt after your return.

For a broadband, landline or mobile customer in France who wants to complain about a failing service or a bill, or to end the contract. As you choose: a complaint, a termination, which takes effect at the latest ten days after receipt (Article L. 224-39 of the French Consumer Code), or a termination without penalty after a change to the contract, within four months (Article L. 224-33). If you switch operator and keep your number, the new operator ends the old contract for you. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

For a taxpayer whose complaint, request for remission or request for time to pay was rejected in whole or in part by the tax office, and who asks for a fresh look. The referral is free and can be made by simple e-mail; the conciliator's contact details are usually given on the refusal and on impots.gouv.fr. This French letter recalls the request, the decision disputed and your reasons. The referral stops neither payment nor the deadlines for going to court.

For a consumer in France whose order never arrived, arrived late or shows as 'delivered' without being received. The letter goes to the seller, not the carrier: the seller answers for the goods until you receive them. You choose either to give the seller formal notice to deliver within an extra period or, once that period has passed, to notify the end of the contract; the seller must then refund everything paid within 14 days (Articles L. 216-6 and L. 216-7 of the French Consumer Code). In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

For a consumer in France whose faulty item was not repaired or replaced: the seller refused, did nothing within thirty days, the defect persists after repair, or it is too serious to wait. You choose between ending the sale, with the price refunded against return of the item, and a price reduction while keeping it (Article L. 217-14 of the French Consumer Code). In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt, with the proof of purchase and your first request.