Most complaints in this sector go nowhere, and the commonest reason is not that they lack merit. It is that they were sent to a body with no power to do anything about the thing complained of. This article is a routing table.
Start with the clinic, in writing
Almost every route works better if you have first raised it with the provider and given them a chance to respond. Put it in writing, set out what happened factually and what you want, and give a deadline. Keep it unemotional, not because your feelings are unjustified but because a factual letter is easier to forward to a regulator later.
Ask for their complaints procedure at the same time. Whether one exists, and whether it is followed, is itself relevant evidence.
The professional regulators
If the person who treated you, or prescribed for you, is a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife or pharmacist, their regulator takes complaints from members of the public. The GMC, GDC, NMC and GPhC each have a fitness to practise process, and each publishes how to raise a concern.
They are the right route for clinical practice below standard, prescribing failures including prescribing without an assessment, consent failures, misleading conduct, poor record keeping, and failure to manage a complication properly. They are the only bodies that can restrict or remove a person's ability to practise their profession.
They will not award you compensation, order a refund or resolve a contract dispute. Understanding that in advance prevents a great deal of frustration.
If the person is not registered with any of the four, none of them has jurisdiction, and there is no equivalent body. That gap is described in what the law actually requires.
What you are entitled to when complaining
- To complain to a professional regulator about any registrant, free, without having suffered harm.
- To complain to the ASA about marketing you have seen, whether or not you were a customer.
- To report a trader to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
- To a copy of your records to support any complaint, under a subject access request.
- To leave a factual review of your experience. Stating facts is not automatically defamatory.
Regulators decide whether a professional is fit to practise. They do not award compensation.
The Advertising Standards Authority
If the problem is what you were told in marketing, including a website, a social media post, a paid advertisement, or a claim about results, qualifications or accreditation, the ASA takes complaints from anyone who has seen the marketing. You do not need to have been a customer, and it is free.
The ASA can require marketing to be withdrawn or amended and publishes its rulings, which are read within the industry. It is a more effective route than people expect for exactly the claims that mislead patients before they ever reach a clinic. See the advertising rules.
Trading Standards, through Citizens Advice
Consumer law issues go to Trading Standards. In practice, consumers report through the Citizens Advice consumer service, which passes cases to Trading Standards. This is the route for misleading commercial practices, aggressive selling, misleading pricing, failure to honour cancellation rights, and matters under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Trading Standards will not usually pursue an individual grievance for you, but reports build the picture that triggers enforcement, and enforcement is the only mechanism that reaches an unregistered practitioner.
A clinic that responds to a complaint by threatening defamation proceedings over a review. Setting out your factual experience is not automatically defamatory, and this response is generally a pressure tactic. Take advice rather than deleting anything in a panic.
The premises regulator
Where the provider is registered with the CQC in England, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales or the RQIA in Northern Ireland, you can raise concerns with that regulator. They do not investigate individual complaints in the way an ombudsman would, but they use information from the public in deciding what to inspect and when.
The MHRA
If a medicine or a device was involved, report it through the Yellow Card scheme. This is separate from a complaint and serves a different purpose: it feeds product safety surveillance. It is also the route for suspected counterfeit or unlicensed product. See reporting to the MHRA.
Getting money back
None of the bodies above will refund you. The routes for money are: a claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for a service not performed with reasonable care and skill; a section 75 claim against your credit card provider for qualifying transactions; a chargeback through your bank for card payments, subject to scheme time limits; and a negligence claim for injury, which requires legal advice.
The small claims track handles lower value claims without needing a solicitor, and is a realistic route for refunds. Personal injury is different and should not be attempted without advice.
When it is a police matter
Where a procedure was performed on a person under 18 for cosmetic purposes in England, where a protected title was used fraudulently, or where treatment was given without any consent at all, criminal offences may be involved. Regulators and Trading Standards can also refer matters. Do not assume that because something happened in a clinic it cannot be a criminal matter.
Voluntary registers
If the practitioner is on a voluntary register such as the JCCP or Save Face, those bodies take complaints about their members and can remove them. That is worth doing, and it is worth understanding its limits, which are set out in our guide to voluntary registers.