England: templates and forms

For a passenger whose flight arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled at short notice, or who was denied boarding, on a flight covered by UK261 (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law): every flight from a UK airport, and flights to the UK on a UK airline or, from outside the EU, on an EU airline. The letter claims the fixed compensation in pounds — £220, £350 or £520 per passenger, by distance — from the airline that operated the flight, unless extraordinary circumstances caused the problem. Send it by email or the airline's claim form, and by first class post.

For a consumer who bought goods or a service online, by phone or away from the trader's premises and has changed their mind. The notice cancels the contract within the 14-day cancellation period of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, with no reason needed, and asks for a refund within 14 days. The model cancellation form the trader must give you, or its own online form, does the same job free. Send it by email and by first class post with a free certificate of posting, and keep a copy.

For a customer who has cancelled a Direct Debit or standing order with their bank — usually in online banking, free and at once — and needs to tell the company it paid. Cancelling the payment does not end a contract or a debt, so the letter states your position: the contract has ended, you will pay another way, or you dispute the charges. Under the Direct Debit Guarantee, your bank refunds at once any payment taken in error. Send it by email and by first class post.

For a traveller whose package holiday — flights and hotel, or other travel services sold together — was not as booked: a different or poor hotel, missing services, a changed itinerary. Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 the organiser is responsible for every part of the package and owes a price reduction and compensation for what went wrong. The letter claims them and is a letter before claim with 14 days to reply. Send it to the organiser by email and by first class post.

For the keeper of a vehicle in England or Wales who has received a council's Notice to Owner, or a penalty charge notice (PCN) by post from a camera, and wants it cancelled. The letter makes formal representations on one of the grounds printed on the notice — the contravention did not occur, you were not the owner, procedural impropriety and the others — with the facts, the evidence and any compelling reasons. It must reach the council within 28 days of the notice being served; the council's free online form does the same.

For the driver or keeper of a vehicle given a council penalty charge notice (PCN) for parking in England or Wales who thinks it is wrong and has not yet received a Notice to Owner. The letter gives the ticket's details, the reasons it should be cancelled and the evidence. Councils generally hold the 50% discount while they consider a challenge made within 14 days. The council's free online challenge form does the same job; this letter suits post or email. Not for private car park tickets or police fines.

For a member who wants to end a gym membership, a club or a paid subscription. The notice ends the contract on the basis you choose — its own notice terms, the end of the minimum term, or the 14-day cancellation right for a contract made online or by phone — and asks the provider to take no payment after the last one due. The subscription rules of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 are not yet in force. Send it by the channel the contract names, or by email and first class post.

For the directors of a solvent private limited company in the UK that has stopped trading and is to be closed. The written resolution records that the company meets the conditions of the Companies Act 2006 for voluntary strike-off, authorises the application on form DS01 (£13 online) and the copies that must go within seven days to its members, employees, creditors, any director who did not sign and pension trustees. A company that cannot pay its debts is closed through an insolvency practitioner instead.

For a business in England and Wales ending a contract with a supplier, customer or other business, either on the notice the contract allows or because the other side has seriously broken it. The letter identifies the contract and the clause relied on, gives the end date, describes any breach, and records that payments due and surviving terms continue. Follow the contract's notices clause on address, method and timing, and keep proof of delivery. Ending a contract for a breach that is not serious enough can itself be a breach, so take advice if unsure.

For two people or businesses who have agreed to end a dispute — over money, goods, work done, damage or a deposit — by one paying the other an agreed sum. The agreement records the payment and when it is due, that once paid it settles all claims about the dispute, that neither side admits liability, and that each bears its own costs. It is not for a dispute with an employer: an employee's claims are settled only by an agreement made after independent advice, or through Acas. Both sign it; each keeps a copy.

For someone who has revoked a power of attorney they gave under the 1971 Act: a letter to a bank, building society, utility, landlord or any organisation the attorney has dealt with, saying the power has been revoked, asking them to stop accepting the attorney’s instructions and to confirm it in writing. It encloses a copy of the deed of revocation and goes first class with a free certificate of posting, or by hand.

For an employee in England, Wales or Scotland who wants to change their hours, days or place of work — part-time, compressed hours, home or hybrid working: a dated, written statutory request under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996, giving your present pattern, the change and when it should start, and saying whether you made another request in the last 12 months. It is a right from your first day, and the employer must decide within two months. Hand it in and email it.

For a customer who wants to close a current account with a bank or building society. Under regulation 51 of the Payment Services Regulations 2017 you can end a current account at any time, subject to a notice period of up to one month if your terms set one, and closing is free once the account has been open for six months. The letter asks the bank to close the account, cancel cards and payments, pay the remaining balance to another account and confirm the closure in writing. Most banks also close accounts free in the app, by phone or in a branch.

For a client and a self-employed consultant or freelancer in England and Wales, working on their own account or through their own limited company. The agreement covers the services, fees and invoices, expenses, the right to send a substitute, who owns the work, confidentiality, liability, ending the contract and the off-payroll working rules (IR35) for medium and large clients. Its wording does not decide employment or tax status, which follows how the work is actually done, so each party should take advice if the status is unclear.

For a consumer whose order from an online or high-street trader has not arrived. Under section 28 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the trader must deliver within the agreed time or, if none was agreed, within 30 days, and the goods stay at its risk until you have them (section 29), so a parcel lost in transit is its problem. The letter gives a final 14 days to deliver, after which the contract ends and a full refund is due. Send it by email and by first class post.

For a business in England and Wales that provides services to another business: consultancy, design, maintenance, marketing or IT support. The agreement sets out the services, the fees, invoicing and payment within an agreed period, who owns the work produced, confidentiality, data protection, a cap on liability, notice to end it and the law of England and Wales. Late payment carries statutory interest. Both businesses sign. For an individual freelancer, the freelance consultancy agreement fits better.

For a pregnant employee in England, Wales or Scotland: the written notice of your pregnancy, the expected week of childbirth, the date you want your maternity leave to start and the date for Statutory Maternity Pay, given by the end of the 15th week before the expected week, with your MAT B1 certificate enclosed or to follow. It asks your employer to confirm in writing, within 28 days, when your leave ends and what you will be paid. GOV.UK explains maternity pay and leave free. Hand it in and email it.

For someone who needs another person to act for them in one matter only — selling a car, signing a contract, dealing with a bank account or a property sale while they are abroad. A deed (Powers of Attorney Act 1971, s 1) that names the matter, what the attorney may sign and when the power ends, signed in front of a witness. If a letter of authority or the organisation’s own free form will do, use that first.

For an employer and an employee in England, Wales or Scotland who agree that the employee will work partly or wholly from home: a signed variation of the contract setting out the pattern of days, the start date, equipment, any contribution to costs, workstation safety, data security, an optional trial period and how the arrangement can be reviewed or ended. Everything else in the contract stays the same. Signed by both; each keeps a copy.

For an employer in England, Wales or Scotland taking someone on for a set period — maternity cover, a season, a project: a contract with an end date that is also the written statement of particulars the law requires on or before the first day. It includes the protection of the Fixed-term Employees Regulations 2002, the four-year rule for successive contracts and early termination by notice. Each party should take advice before signing. Signed by both; each keeps a copy.

For a former keeper in the UK who sold or passed on a vehicle but is still shown on DVLA's record and is getting reminders, a late licensing penalty or fines for it. If you still have the log book (V5C), tell DVLA first with GOV.UK's free online service, which updates the record at once. The letter is for what that cannot fix: it gives the date and time of the sale and the new keeper's details, says how DVLA was told, and asks DVLA to correct its record and stop action for the time after the sale. Sent first class to the address on DVLA's letter.

For a private tenant in England who wants to move out. Since 1 May 2026 every private assured tenancy is periodic, and a tenant ends it by written notice to quit of at least two months, unless the landlord agrees in writing to a shorter period. The notice gives your end date, with a saving clause that moves it to the first valid date if needed, can ask the landlord to agree an earlier date, asks for a check-out and the return of your deposit, and gives your forwarding address. Send it first class with a free certificate of posting, and by email too.