Complaint & Appeal: templates and forms

Three days from service: that is all the time the new Greek Road Traffic Code allows for objecting to a traffic ticket (art. 107 of Law 5209/2025), and this document is written to be filed the same day. It goes to the authority of the officer who recorded the offence, electronically or, where that is not possible, by any other suitable means, with the ticket's details, the grounds, the evidence and, if someone else was driving, who. Camera fines are objected to through Gov.gr Wallet within the same three days. The old half-fine for paying within ten days no longer exists.

For anyone whose vehicle was damaged in a road accident in Italy: a letter in Italian reporting the accident and claiming compensation, either from your own insurer (direct compensation, art. 149 of the Italian Private Insurance Code) or from the insurer of the driver at fault (art. 148), with the details the law requires: tax code, circumstances, and the place, days and hours for the damage assessment. Damage to property only, not injuries. Your own insurer must be told within three days (art. 1913 of the Civil Code); send it by registered post or PEC, with the CAI joint report if completed.

An appeal to the Prefetto is free, on plain paper and has no set form; many Prefetture and the consumer association Altroconsumo publish free models. This is a ready-made appeal in Italian for the driver or owner contesting a fine under the Italian Highway Code: the ticket's details, your own grounds, a request to be heard and to have the fine dismissed. It must be lodged within 60 days of service, by registered post, PEC or by hand, with the Prefettura of the place of the offence or the police body that issued it, and only if the fine is unpaid.

For challenging a post-parking charge (forfait post-stationnement, FPS) in France, the appeal required before the parking court. It goes to the body named on the payment notice, within a month of its notification; many offer a free form, online or to print, that you can use instead of this letter. The letter, sent by the registered keeper, gives the notice, the chosen ground (parking paid, vehicle sold, plates stolen, special rate, mistake), the explanation and the enclosures. Sent by registered post with proof of receipt. In French.

For street lighting that does not work, potholes, an abandoned vehicle, illegal dumping, noise, a dangerous tree, a missing manhole cover. A report goes further than a phone call, because it is logged with a reference number and has to be answered. Describe the location as precisely as you can and say whether anyone is in danger — that is what determines how quickly it is dealt with.

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.

For a buyer in France of a new or second-hand item, from a business or a private seller, who discovers after the sale a serious defect that was not visible: a used car, an appliance, furniture. You rely on the guarantee against hidden defects (Article 1641 onwards of the French Civil Code) and choose between a refund against return of the item and a price reduction. Court action must be brought within two years of discovering the defect. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

A letter objecting to an Austrian penalty order (Strafverfügung) from a district authority, a city's Magistrat or the Land police directorate, for instance for a traffic offence: with the file number, the date and the day of service, against the whole order or expressly only against the amount (§ 49 of the Austrian Administrative Penal Act, VStG). Deadline: two weeks from service; no reasons are needed, e-mail is accepted, and posting on the last day is enough. If the case ends in a penalty decision, 10 % costs are added, at least € 10 (§ 64 VStG). On-the-spot fines and anonymous orders cannot be objected to. In German.

For when the settlement offered falls short of what the repair actually costs. The objection identifies the claim, the figure you are objecting to, and the ground — a garage quotation, an independent valuation, items left out of the schedule. It also asks for a copy of the expert assessment the insurer relied on, since without it there is no way to contest a particular item.

For a member of a French mutual, insurer or provident institution who has not received the expected reimbursement from their complémentaire santé. Check your online member area first, often the quickest. In French, the letter identifies the contract, the care and the amount expected, records the steps already taken and names the mediator in the contract, free, to be approached within a year of the written complaint. Sold blank, to complete by hand, as it holds health data. Sent by registered post to keep proof.

For an insured person whose care was not reimbursed, or wrongly, by the French local health insurance fund (CPAM) in mainland France, or by the general social security fund (CGSS) in the overseas departments other than Mayotte. The free route comes first: the messaging service of the ameli account. In French, the letter is for when a posted complaint is better: it identifies the care, the dispute and the request, and names the fund's mediator and then the amicable appeals committee. The social security number is written by hand. Sold blank, as it holds health data.

The complaint (Bescheidbeschwerde) against an assessment of Austria's tax office, the Finanzamt Österreich — an income tax or VAT assessment, for example — under § 243 of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (BAO), due within one month of service (§ 245 BAO). It contains what § 250 BAO requires: the assessment, the points contested, the changes sought and the grounds. Optional: suspension of collection (§ 212a BAO), since a complaint does not stop payment, direct referral, an oral hearing and a panel at the Federal Fiscal Court. Submit through FinanzOnline, by post or fax: an e-mail is no submission at all (§§ 85, 86a BAO). In German.

The step to take when a controller has not answered your request or has refused it without good reason. The order is the same as in consumer disputes: first a request to the organisation, then a complaint to the commission with a copy of the correspondence attached. A complaint with no prior request is usually sent back, because there is no refusal to examine.

Marketing calls, messages and letters stop on an objection under Article 21 of the General Data Protection Regulation. Unlike the other rights, there is no balancing here and no exceptions: on an objection to direct marketing, processing for that purpose ends. The document lists the channels separately, because unsubscribing from the newsletter does not stop the phone calls.