Complaint & Appeal: templates and forms

For a passenger whose flight was cancelled with less than 14 days’ notice, arrived three hours or more late, or who was denied boarding: you ask the airline that operated the flight for 250, 400 or 600 € per person, depending on distance (EU Regulation 261/2004), unless there were extraordinary circumstances. It covers flights leaving an EU airport and flights into the EU on a European airline. Many airlines offer a free online form; with no answer within six weeks, a complaint to Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC is free and online. This Italian letter goes by registered post with proof of receipt, or by PEC if the airline has a certified address.

For a traveller who bought a package holiday from an Italian organiser – flight and hotel, cruise, organised tour – and found services other than those promised: you ask the organiser for a price reduction, reimbursement of expenses and damages, including damages for a ruined holiday (Articles 42, 43 and 46 of the Italian Tourism Code). Defects must be reported promptly during the trip, to the organiser or the travel agency; damages are claimed within three years of returning. Italian chambers of commerce publish free guides on package travel. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the organiser’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.

An Italian written complaint, in Italian, to the public relations office (URP) of a local health authority (ASL), a hospital trust or an accredited facility, about a poor service or conduct in care: the patient or a relative gives the ward, the date and the facts and asks for checks and a written answer within the time set by the authority’s service charter. Many authorities have their own free complaint form. Send it by PEC, registered post with proof of receipt, or by hand. It holds health data, so it is sold blank and filled in by hand.

For anyone in Italy who finds a contract in their name that they never asked for – electricity or gas moved to another supplier, a phone line or service switched on, a subscription – often after a phone call or doorstep visit: you repudiate the contract and ask for it to stop, for the bills to be cancelled and for a refund. A consumer owes nothing for an unsolicited supply, and silence is not consent (Article 66-quinquies of the Italian Consumer Code). For electricity and gas, ARERA has a restoration procedure; Altroconsumo publishes a free model. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the company’s certified address or by registered post.

For a consumer in Italy who paid for an online order, or for goods to be delivered home, and has not received them by the promised date or, failing one, within 30 days: you invite the seller to deliver by a new, appropriate deadline and announce that otherwise you will terminate the contract and ask for everything paid back (Article 61 of the Italian Consumer Code). The risk of loss in transit stays with the seller until delivery (Article 63). Send this Italian letter by registered post with proof of receipt or by PEC to the seller’s certified address.

For a consumer in Italy who has already asked the seller to repair or replace a faulty product, without result: you ask for a proportionate price reduction, or declare the contract terminated and ask for the whole price back (Articles 135-bis and 135-quater of the Italian Consumer Code). It applies if the seller refuses or does not act within a reasonable time, if the defect comes back or if it is serious. Italian consumer associations also offer free models. Send this Italian letter by registered post with proof of receipt or by PEC to the seller’s certified address.