We check every issue that you report to us in all of the complaints that we receive and take action where we need to. The information you give us helps us to identify problems that need to be addressed in advertising and alerts us to the issues that matter.

We will always let you know if our assessment indicates that you have raised an immediate problem under the Advertising Codes or if your complaint is to be investigated under formal procedures. Otherwise, we will keep a record of your concerns and feed them into our intelligence gathering, but you may not hear from us beyond an acknowledgement that we have received your complaint. Should we determine there is another organisation that is better placed to deal with your complaint, we will let you know.

You can complain to us if:

  • you're a member of the public, you work for a competitor or you’re associated with a group with an obvious interest
  • it's something we cover (if you’re unsure, call us on the number below) and you’re happy to limit your complaint to three issues

You can complain to us by:

  • completing our online complaints form (click continue below), or by calling us via the details below. If you encounter any error messages when using our online form, please contact us at [email protected] - though please note we don't accept complaints via this email address.

You will need:

  • information about the ad, including where and when you saw it
  • if possible, a photo, video or screenshot of the ad (please note, if we do not have sufficient detail to help us to locate the ad you have concerns about, we may not be able to proceed with an assessment of your complaint)
  •  a few minutes to fill in our form online
  • If the content you are complaining about is time-limited e.g. Instagram Stories, if possible, please provide us with a recording – e.g. a screen-recording using a smartphone – that captures the content in full, including any audio. This will allow us to make a more complete assessment of your concerns and enable comprehensive follow-up action, if needed. If you have a recording, because of file size limitations, do not submit this yet. When you submit your complaint, you will receive an automated response providing you with a unique reference number and you will be asked to send us the recorded content at that point. It’s really important to quote your unique reference number when you send us the recording.

Further information:

Reporting online scam ads

We have separate, quick report forms for online scam ads. If you have seen an online ad you think is for a scam, use our scam reporting form.