About case fees and when you need to pay them.
Our service is free for consumers, we’re funded by a combination of levies and case fees that are paid by businesses.
Each year we consult publicly on our proposed plans and funding arrangements for the financial year ahead.
The consultation includes the volume of complaints we expect to receive and resolve, and the amount we plan to raise through our levy and case fees. You can read more about this in our latest plans and budget.
When we do and don’t charge
You won’t need to pay a case fee for the first 3 complaints against your business that we deal with in each financial year. From the 4th complaint onwards, we charge a case fee of £650.
Most businesses have very few cases referred to us, meaning that most businesses don’t pay any case fees. For businesses that do pay case fees, the cost involved is likely to be much less than the legal costs of defending the case in court.
When you have to pay the case fee
The fee is only payable once the complaint is resolved. Our finance team will send you an invoice at the end of the month in which we close the case.