---
title: "Customer complaints and escalation"
description: "Learn about types of customer complaints and proper complaint handling."
url: "https://docs.adyen.com/capital/customer-complaints"
source_url: "https://docs.adyen.com/capital/customer-complaints.md"
canonical: "https://docs.adyen.com/capital/customer-complaints"
last_modified: "2024-01-10T12:09:00+01:00"
language: "en"
---

# Customer complaints and escalation

Learn about types of customer complaints and proper complaint handling.

[View source](/capital/customer-complaints.md)

The information in this page does **not** constitute legal advice. It only provides an overview of Adyen's compliance guidelines for financial products and Adyen for Platforms (referred to as the Compliance Guidelines). For additional, non-legal clarifications about this content, reach out to your Adyen contact.

Proper handling of complaints is mandatory for all platform that offer one of Adyen's financial services. *Complaints* refer to an expression of dissatisfaction about Adyen products, services, terms, communications, or actions, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected.

Even if the customer does not use the word "complaint" in their communication, if the content of the inquiry expresses dissatisfaction with Adyen products or services, the inquiry should be treated as a complaint. It is the substance of the complainant’s feedback and not the tone or format, that determines if the inquiry is a complaint. This definition is inclusive of complaints communicated in any form, written or oral, and through any channel.

A complaint is not a customer service question or inquiry, either verbal or written, that includes a request to the platform for information and assistance related to a process or product. For example, the following **are not** complaints:

* Requests to change an address.
* Inquiries regarding account details.
* Questions about a product's availability in specific locations or requests for general information.
* Questions related to technical assistance (such as error messages) or issues interacting with Adyen's platform or a third-party platform integrated with Adyen's services.
* Requests for a refund of fees or a chargeback.

However, if any customer request concerning any of the above matters alleges unfair treatment or expresses dissatisfaction, this should be treated as a complaint.

## Complaint handling process

The platform must operate a complaints handling process that includes the following features.

### Access to support

Provide users with an easily identifiable and accessible way to submit support inquiries.

### Complaint identification

Identify complaints that are received through all available customer support channels. The platform can require complaints to be submitted through a complaints form. A link to this form should be provided in customer support channels where a user has raised a complaint.

* **Guidance on complaint handling**. Provide clear guidance and information to users on how the platform will work to resolve complaints. This includes:

  * The platform's acknowledgement of the complaint (within the timelines listed under complaint resolution timelines).
  * Communicating the ultimate deadline for resolving the complaint (within the timelines listed under complaint resolution timelines).
  * Providing regular updates on the investigation of the complaint. If the complaint has not been resolved within the specified timelines, the platform must notify the customer of the anticipated timeframe for resolving the complaint.
  * The platform must investigate the Complaint and take all actions deemed necessary to address the complaint in a timely manner, in accordance with the timelines as outlined under complaint resolution timelines.
  * For any regulatory and legal complaints, Adyen will be involved in the resolution and work with the platform.

* **Complaint resolution timelines**. Adyen expects the platform to:

  * Acknowledge all user complaints within 5 business days.
  * Resolve them within 10 business days from the complaint submission date.
  * Notify users if complaints will take longer than 10 business days to resolve.

### Recordkeeping

The platform must maintain records relating to all support inquiries (and complaints) responses for five years from the date of the termination of the Adyen Service and the user's account closure, unless the platform’s own data retention requirements stipulate a longer time period. Such records must be maintained in a durable and accessible format, for example, in the form of a log.

## When to escalate a complaint to Adyen

There are several categories of complaints relevant to Adyen’s services that the platform may encounter being in the first and second line support for the user.

| Category of compliants          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| General complaints              | Operational complaints related to customer service, product functionality, account management, transactions.                                                                                     |
| Security complaints             | Complaints from the user related, but not limited to:- Fraud
- Identity theft
- Criminal activity, such as robbery or theft
- Unauthorized access to a customer’s information
- Account takeover |
| Regulatory and legal complaints | Complaints that involve legal or regulatory matters.                                                                                                                                             |

Security and Regulatory/Legal complaints must be reported to Adyen within one to two working days. Adyen will then work with a platform to resolve the complaint.

The platform is required to forward user complaints to Adyen so Adyen can assist the platform with preparing the response in the following situations:

* The platform has received and acknowledged the complaint and is unable to substantively resolve the issue without Adyen's input.
* Adyen has a responsibility to handle and resolve the complaint in accordance with the criteria outlined for each type of compliant in the following table.

## Types of complaints to escalate

| Type of complaint    | Example                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Who responds to the user                                                                                                                                                |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Legal**            | * Legal action addressed to Adyen, for example, court or official documentation where Adyen is a defendant.
* Complaint accompanying threat of legal action, for example, complaint submitted alongside court documentation.
* Complaint about official court orders, for example, seizure order or other court orders. | **Adyen** responds to legal actions directly. The **platform** handles the complaint aspect and resolution unless Adyen's input is required for a substantive response. |
| **Data Privacy**     | - Official court orders against the customer, for example, seizure order or subpoena addressed to Adyen.
- Breach of GDPR/UK GDPR, for example, mishandled data, shared data, or requests for access/deletion.
- Threat to refer Adyen to a regulator or court for breaching privacy rules.                             | **Adyen** (responds to the user, Court/FIU, or regulator directly).                                                                                                     |
| **Regulatory**       | * Complaint accompanying regulatory referral (complaint to be considered alongside the referral).
* Regulatory referral, for example, customer indicates they will refer Adyen to a regulator/ombudsman.                                                                                                                | **Adyen** responds to the regulator/ombudsman. The **platform** handles resolution unless Adyen's input is required for a substantive response.                         |
| **Financial Crime**  | - Victim of a financial crime (relevant for bank accounts/cards for refunding/blocking, or chargebacks).
- Blocked funds, for example, customer states they are unable to access funds or account has been blocked.                                                                                                     | The **platform** performs handling and resolution.                                                                                                                      |
| **Technical Issues** | * Issues caused by an Adyen API or component that requires technical support.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | The **platform** performs handling and resolution.                                                                                                                      |

## Escalation procedure

1. Provide the information as soon as possible, but no later than two business days after the complaint is received.
2. Adyen will forward the complaint to the relevant team based on the criteria in the table.
3. If Adyen needs further information from the platform to prepare a response, the platform must provide a response when Adyen within two business days.
4. Once Adyen has prepared the final response, this will be sent to the platform, and the platform must provide this response to the user in line with the complaints handling timelines in the Compliance Guidelines.

## For Customers in the UK & Ireland

### Receipt and acknowledgement

The platform’s complaints resolution process must contain the following additional elements:

* Within 5 working days of the platform concluding its investigation of the complaint, the platform must notify the user of

  * The decision in relation to the complaint (including the reasons for the decision).
  * If applicable, the terms of any offer or settlement made.
  * That the user may be entitled to refer their complaint to the relevant ombudsman if they are not satisfied with the platform’s conclusion; and again provide the above contact details of the relevant ombudsman.

* The platform’s acknowledgement of the complaint must state that the user may be entitled to raise the complaint with the relevant financial ombudsman in the user’s jurisdiction (in Ireland, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman and in the UK, the Financial Ombudsman Service) where the user is not satisfied with the platform’s or Adyen’s final response to the complaint or the complaint has not been resolved within 15 working days.

* The platform must provide the user making the complaint with a point of contact in relation to the complaint.

* The acknowledgement should also include the contact details of the relevant ombudsman, as follows:

  **Ireland**\
  *Address: Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, D02 VH29.\
  Phone: +353 1 567 7000\
  Email: info\@fspo.ie*

  **UK**\
  *Website: <https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk>\
  Online complaint form: <https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help>\
  Mail: The Financial Ombudsman Service Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR\
  Phone: 0800 023 4 567 (free), 0300 123 9 123, weekdays from 8:00am–5:00pm (GMT). If you are not located in the UK, call +44 20 7964 0500.\
  You have 6 months to make a complaint after we send you a final response.*

### Resolution

The platform must provide the user making the complaint with regular updates on the investigation of the complaint, at intervals of maximum 15 business days (starting on the date the complaint was received).

Where the complaint has not been resolved within 35 working days, the platform must notify the user of the anticipated timeframe for resolving the complaint and that the customer may be entitled to refer the complaint to the relevant ombudsman (providing again the above contact details for the relevant ombudsman).

### Escalation

If Adyen receives any complaint directly from BACS and requires your platform to provide any information for Adyen to respond to the complaint, your platform must provide this within two business days.

Adyen does not consider that any complaints about the payment services made available to users should be forwarded to Adyen under the DISP 1.7 complaints and forwarding rules.

## See also

* [Customer service and support](/capital/customer-service-support)
* [Notification and reporting to Adyen](/capital/reporting-to-adyen)
* [Overview of compliance guidelines](/capital/compliance-guidelines)
