Who to contact when something goes wrong
Half the difficulty of dealing with a British institution is working out which one it is. Tax is reserved; health and housing are devolved. Consumer law is UK-wide; enforcement is not. This page maps the problem to the body that can actually do something about it — and says plainly what each one cannot do.
Short answer
For anything life-threatening, call 999. For urgent medical advice, 111. For non-emergency police, 101. For tax, HMRC on 0300 200 3300. For a work problem, Acas on 0300 123 1100. For a bank, insurer or lender, the Financial Ombudsman on 0800 023 4567. For bank fraud, dial 159.
The order that works
Step 1
Go to the business or body first
Almost every ombudsman will refuse a case that has not been put to the other side first. Put it in writing, keep the reference number, and give them a deadline — eight weeks is the standard threshold for financial complaints.
Step 2
Escalate to the free ombudsman
Ombudsmen are free to you and cost the business a case fee. That asymmetry is why a complaint that went nowhere for months gets resolved in days once it is lodged.
Step 3
Only then, the court
The small claims track handles most consumer and debt disputes without lawyers and with modest fees, but it is a formal legal step with deadlines and costs risk above the small claims limit.
Emergency and urgent help
If life is in immediate danger, none of the rest of this page matters. 999 is free from any phone, including a locked mobile with no credit and no SIM.
Crimes that have already happened and are not in progress, and general police enquiries. In an emergency use 999 instead.
24/7
Text 999 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment. You must register the phone in advance for it to work.
Flood warnings and advice for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own equivalent services.
24/7
Mental health, crisis and domestic abuse
These lines are free, confidential and staffed by trained volunteers or specialists. You do not need a referral, an NHS number or settled status to call any of them.
Anyone in distress or despair, at any hour, about anything. Free to call and it does not appear on your phone bill.
24/7
Information on mental health problems, treatments, and where to get help locally.
Weekdays
Run by Refuge, for anyone experiencing domestic abuse, and for people worried about someone else.
24/7
Free information and advice for older people on benefits, care, housing and money.
8am–7pm daily
Government services
Tax, National Insurance, benefits, passports, driving and immigration are reserved to the UK Government, so the same number works across all four nations — with some Scottish social security exceptions.
Forecasts, claims and payment enquiries. Check your forecast online first — it is faster.
Weekdays
Driving licences, vehicle tax, registration and medical notifications.
Weekdays and Saturday morning
Visa applications, eVisas, biometric residence documents and immigration status.
Weekdays
Work, money and debt
Free, independent and — importantly — able to make binding decisions in your favour. Complaining to an ombudsman costs you nothing and costs the business a case fee, which is why it works.
Free, impartial advice on employment rights, pay, dismissal, redundancy and grievances. Early conciliation is a required step before most employment tribunal claims.
Weekdays
Free external dispute resolution for banks, insurers, lenders, pensions and investments once the firm's own complaints process has failed or eight weeks have passed.
Weekdays and Saturday morning
Free, independent debt advice from a charity. Advisers negotiate with creditors and explain your options without selling anything.
Weekdays
Free debt advice and managed debt solutions, including debt management plans and statutory options.
Weekdays
Free and impartial money guidance backed by government, covering pensions, benefits, borrowing and budgeting.
Weekdays
Consumer problems and complaints
Consumer law is UK-wide but enforcement runs through Trading Standards and a set of sector ombudsmen. Start with the trader, then the ombudsman, then the small claims track.
Free advice on faulty goods, services, refunds and scams. Also the route into Trading Standards, which does not take reports directly from the public in England and Wales.
Weekdays
Energy and communications complaints once your supplier has had eight weeks, or issued a deadlock letter.
Weekdays
Water and sewerage complaints in England and Wales that your supplier has not resolved.
Unresolved complaints about train operators — delays, refunds, ticketing and accessibility.
Complaints about social landlords and some private landlords who are scheme members.
Complaints about councils, adult social care and some education matters.
Scams, fraud and identity theft
Speed matters more than anything else. Call your bank first — 159 connects you securely — because a payment stopped in the first hours is the one you get back.
A short code that connects you directly and securely to your own bank's fraud team. It cannot be spoofed or intercepted, which is the whole point: if someone claiming to be your bank calls you, hang up and dial 159.
As per your bank's fraud line
The national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Produces a crime reference number that banks and insurers ask for. It does not investigate individual reports.
Fraud in Scotland is reported to Police Scotland on 101 rather than to Action Fraud.
Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and suspicious texts to 7726, free. Both feed national takedown work.
A paid marker on your credit file telling lenders to carry out extra checks before granting credit in your name. Useful after identity documents are compromised.
Data protection complaints and breaches — when an organisation has leaked or misused your personal information.
Weekdays
Housing and legal help
Free advice exists for housing, benefits and most civil matters, and legal aid still covers more than most people assume — particularly housing possession and domestic abuse.
Free housing advice on eviction, homelessness, disrepair, deposits and harassment. Emergency helpline for people at immediate risk.
Free advice on benefits, debt, housing, employment, immigration and consumer issues, through a national network of local offices.
Checks whether you qualify for legal aid in England and Wales and can connect you to a legal aid solicitor.
Official register of regulated solicitors in England and Wales, searchable by area of law.
Advice on discrimination and human rights under the Equality Act 2010.
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Contact the police Officialpolice.ukUsed for: 999 and 101 usage and when each applies
- 2.NHS 111 OfficialNHSUsed for: Urgent but non-emergency medical advice service
- 3.Contact HMRC OfficialHM Revenue & CustomsUsed for: Income Tax and Self Assessment helpline numbers
- 4.Contact DVLA OfficialDVLAUsed for: Driving licence and vehicle enquiry numbers
- 5.Acas helpline OfficialAcasUsed for: Employment rights advice and early conciliation
- 6.Financial Ombudsman Service RegulatorFinancial Ombudsman ServiceUsed for: Eligibility, the eight-week rule and the free service
- 7.159 — Stop Scams UK IndustryStop Scams UKUsed for: Secure short code connecting callers to their own bank's fraud team
- 8.Action Fraud OfficialCity of London PoliceUsed for: National fraud reporting centre and its jurisdiction
- 9.Report scam emails and texts OfficialNational Cyber Security CentreUsed for: report@phishing.gov.uk and the 7726 text service
- 10.Consumer helpline OfficialCitizens AdviceUsed for: Consumer advice service and the route into Trading Standards
Not a source — AI-assisted analysis on this page
- AI-assisted analysis — which body to try first, and in what order — The ordering advice on this page (159 before Action Fraud; trader before ombudsman before small claims; ombudsman rather than court for consumer disputes) is our reasoning about how these processes interact in practice. It is not a rule published by any of the bodies listed, and it does not override any specific instruction one of them gives you.
Phone numbers and scope descriptions on this page come from each organisation's own contact page, listed above. Numbers change occasionally and hours change often; the link beside each entry goes to the page that publishes the current details. Several services differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — where they do, the jurisdiction is marked. The escalation order — business, then ombudsman, then court — is our own framing of how these bodies interact, not a procedure any single body publishes.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — UK government departments, devolved administrations, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, usually at the start of a tax year in April; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible body before you rely on them. Much of what follows differs between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — where it does, this site says so.
Looking for the step-by-step rather than the phone number? Browse the guides →