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.

The claim to an airline for compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — 250, 400 or 600 euros per passenger, by distance — when a flight arrived at least three hours late or was cancelled without the notice required. It gives the flight and booking details, the scheduled and actual times, the other passengers on the booking, extra expenses, and the account for payment. It names ANPC as the regulation's national enforcement body.

A passenger's written demand to an airline for the compensation of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance, when a flight from Cyprus, or to Cyprus with a European airline, arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled without timely notice, or the passenger was denied boarding. It also claims meals, hotel or transport costs, asks for cash rather than vouchers, and warns of a complaint to the Department of Civil Aviation.

A claim letter to the airline under EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, written for Germany: €250, €400 or €600 compensation per passenger when you reached your destination three hours or more late, your flight was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding. It sets out the flight, the amount by distance, a refusal of vouchers, your out-of-pocket costs and a payment deadline, and names the German conciliation bodies that come next. For passengers on the same booking too. In German.

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.

A passenger's claim to an airline, in Polish, for compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004: the flight number and date, the route, the booking reference, the scheduled and actual arrival times, the disruption to underline — a delay of 3 hours or more, a cancellation, or denied boarding — the 250, 400 or 600 euro due, expenses and the account. It reminds the airline that only extraordinary circumstances, which it must prove, release it.

For a person on a flight that arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled at short notice or on which boarding was denied: the letter claims from the airline the €250, €400 or €600 compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 for each passenger on the booking, and invites it to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. If the airline does not answer within a month or refuses, a complaint to AESA, Spain's aviation safety agency, is free and its decision binds the airline. Send it by burofax or through the airline's complaint form. In Spanish.

The claim to an airline for compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — 250, 400 or 600 euros per passenger, by distance — when a flight arrived three hours late or more, was cancelled without timely notice, or the passenger was denied boarding. It gives the flight and booking details, the other passengers, the expenses incurred and the IBAN, and asks for payment in money, not vouchers. It goes to the airline first; for flights from Greek airports, the next step is the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (ΑΠΑ), the Regulation's enforcement body.

A traveller's written claim against the organiser of a package holiday bought in Cyprus when the services were not as agreed: the hotel, flights, transfers or excursions. It relies on Law 186(I)/2017, under which the organiser answers for every service in the package, records the failures and when they were reported on the spot, and asks for a price reduction, compensation and the traveller's own costs, before the Consumer Protection Service.

The claim letter to the airline when your flight reached its destination at least three hours late, was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding: you claim compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, plus costs you paid for meals and accommodation, with a payment deadline and your account. If the airline does not answer, or answers unsatisfactorily, within six weeks, Austria's Agency for Passenger Rights (apf) helps free of charge; this letter is the first step there. In German.

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 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.

The complaint to the organiser of a package holiday bought in Greece when the services were not those agreed — accommodation, flights, transfers, meals, excursions. It sets out the booking, the travellers, what was wrong and when and to whom it was reported on the spot, and claims a price reduction, compensation and the costs the traveller paid to put right a fault the organiser did not fix within the reasonable time it was given (Presidential Decree 7/2018). The organiser answers for every service in the package, even those provided by others.

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 a person in Spain whom an electricity, gas, phone or other company has signed up, switched from their supplier or charged for a service they did not ask for. The letter denies any consent, recalls that silence is not acceptance and that unsolicited supplies need not be paid for (art. 66 quáter of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), asks for the contract to be cancelled, a return to the previous company and a refund, and invites the company to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires. Send it by burofax with certified content. In Spanish.

A Spanish written complaint, in Spanish, for a person treated at a public hospital or health centre in Spain, or a relative, who wants to complain in writing about the care: an excessive wait, a cancelled appointment, poor treatment, a lack of information. It is addressed to the patient service (servicio de atención al paciente), asks for the facts to be looked into and for a reasoned answer within the period set by the region's rules. It is not a claim for compensation. File it at the service itself, at any public registry office, at a post office or online. It holds health data, so it is sold blank and filled in by hand.

The complaint to the local court against the report by which a fine was imposed in Romania — a traffic fine or any other. It is filed within 15 days of receipt (art. 31 of Ordinance no. 2/2001) and asks for the report to be annulled or the fine replaced with a warning. It sets out the grounds of absolute nullity in art. 17 — the officer's details, the offence, the date or the signature missing — the evidence, and a request to be tried in absence.

You paid in advance and the service was never performed — a trip cancelled, a tradesman who never came, a course that never started. The request states what was paid, when and for what, establishes that the service was not provided, and sets a period for the money to be returned. Attach the proof of payment: without it the argument turns into whether there was a payment at all.

A Cypriot cardholder's written request to the bank or card issuer disputing charges: a transaction the cardholder did not authorise, a purchase never delivered, a refund the merchant did not make, a double charge or a subscription already cancelled. It asks the issuer to recover the charge from the merchant's bank (a chargeback) and, for an unauthorised transaction, to refund by the next business day under Law 31(I)/2018, and warns of a referral to the Financial Ombudsman.

For a person who booked a package holiday in Spain or with a Spanish organiser (flight and hotel, a cruise or an agency package) that did not go as agreed: a different hotel, excursions that did not happen, missing services. The letter claims from the organiser or the agency a price reduction for the days affected and compensation for damage (arts. 161 and 162 of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), and invites it to negotiate as Spanish Organic Law 1/2025 requires before suing. Send it by burofax with certified content to the organiser or the agency that sold the trip. In Spanish.

A consumer complaint to your electricity or gas supplier in Germany — a wrong bill, excessive instalments, a meter reading not taken over, a missing bonus or a termination left unconfirmed. The letter gives customer number, meter number and supply address, describes the problem, asks for a remedy and points to the four-week statutory deadline for an answer (§ 111a of the German Energy Industry Act, EnWG). If it fails, it is the precondition for a free application to the energy conciliation body, the Schlichtungsstelle Energie (§ 111b EnWG). Not for water or district heating. In German.

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.