Consumer: 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.

For anyone in Italy who wants to end a subscription – gym, swimming pool, magazine, online service – or stop it renewing: the letter gives notice at expiry, withdraws on the contract’s terms or, if a documented illness or injury prevents you from using the service, asks for termination because performance has become impossible (Articles 1463 and 1464 of the Italian Civil Code). Italy has no specific law on gyms: the contract and the Italian Consumer Code’s rules on unfair terms decide. Many providers state in the contract how to cancel. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the company’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.

For anyone in Italy who wants to end an insurance policy – home, accident, liability, health – at expiry so that it does not renew tacitly, or to withdraw from a policy lasting more than five years once five years have passed (Article 1899 of the Italian Civil Code). The notice period is the one the policy sets and counts from receipt of the letter. Motor liability insurance, by contrast, needs no notice: it never renews tacitly. Many insurers also accept cancellation free of charge from the customer area or through the agent. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the insurer’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.

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 anyone in Italy who wants to end a landline, mobile, internet or pay-TV contract, even before it expires: the law lets you withdraw at any time, on no more than thirty days’ notice and without costs other than those justified by the operator’s own costs (Article 1(3) of Italian decree-law 7/2007, the «decreto Bersani»). Operators also offer free cancellation channels in the customer area or in their shops; to move to another operator and keep your number, just go to the new one. This Italian letter proves the date: send it by PEC to the operator’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.

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.

For a consumer in Italy who bought online, by phone, by mail order or from a doorstep seller and has changed their mind: you withdraw within 14 days without giving reasons (Article 52 of the Italian Consumer Code) and ask for everything you paid back within 14 days. The model form the seller must give you and, for contracts concluded from 19 June 2026, the «Recedere dal contratto qui» button on shopping websites are free and enough on their own. This Italian letter leaves written proof: send it by registered post with proof of receipt (raccomandata A/R) or by PEC to the seller’s certified e-mail address.

For a consumer in Italy who paid a trader – a shop, a tradesman, a service company – and did not get what was agreed, or was charged sums not owed: you formally call on the trader in writing to perform within at least 15 days, put it in default (Article 1219 of the Italian Civil Code) and interrupt limitation (Article 2943). You choose whether, once the deadline passes, the contract ends by law (Article 1454) or you will sue for performance. Energy, phone, bank and insurance disputes also have a free sector route. Send this Italian letter by registered post with proof of receipt or by PEC to the trader’s certified address.