Consumer: templates and forms

For a private policyholder in France who wants to leave an insurer or mutual insurer. After a year, car insurance and a tenant's home insurance are cancelled by the new insurer, and a policy taken out online can also be cancelled online. This letter offers, as you choose: cancellation at any time, after a year, of another policy, such as supplementary health cover, effective one month after receipt (Article L. 113-15-2 of the French Insurance Code; Article L. 221-10-2 of the Mutual Insurance Code); cancellation at the annual renewal date; or cancellation of loan insurance at any time, with the lender's approval of the new policy (loi Lemoine). In French.

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 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.

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.

For a borrower in France who accepted a consumer credit offer (personal loan, car loan, revolving credit, credit linked to a purchase) and has changed their mind. You withdraw within fourteen full calendar days of accepting the offer, without giving reasons (Article L. 312-19 of the French Consumer Code); the period is shorter, at least three days, if you asked for immediate delivery of goods bought on credit. The detachable form attached to the offer is enough and free; this letter does the same with your references and deals with repaying any funds already paid out. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt before the period ends.

You are leaving a phone, a laptop, an appliance or a machine at a repair shop. The record describes the item, the visible damage at the point of handover and the fault reported — and fixes whether a deadline and an estimated price were given. It is also the document a later complaint about a poor repair rests on, because it shows the condition the item was in when it went in.