Signposting and Mediation

Signposting

In some instances the SBC may not be able to take on your complaint but we will put you in touch with the relevant body to help solve your problem.

The SBC can’t help if you’re currently trying to resolve the problem with legal action, mediation, adjudication or arbitration.

You’ll also need to resolve the problem another way if:

  • your customer didn’t pay because they’re unhappy with your price or service
  • you’ve already had a legally binding decision about the problem, for example from a court, arbitrator or adjudicator

Public Sector customers

If your customer is in the public sector contact:

If you’re not sure what’s best in your situation, you can get advice about payment problems by calling the government-backed helpline for England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland

Business help

Get free local business help from your nearest:

If you are a small business with a complaint about a financial product or service provided in or from the UK, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service for small businesses.

For information about the Prompt Payment Code contact the Office of the Small Business Commissioner who administer the Code on behalf of the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Legal action and advice

The legal action you can take includes sending a solicitor’s letter, making a money claim or getting a binding decision from a judge in court.

There are alternatives to court that can give you a legally binding decision or an expert opinion that will help you resolve your dispute. They can sometimes be quicker than court, but they can also be expensive.

  • Solicitor’s letter from around £20
  • Start a money claim from £25
  • Extra costs for going to court

Talk to a solicitor

Talk to a accountant

Mediation

A professional mediator, agreed on by both of you, can help you to work out a solution.

You can do this before taking other action, or you can pause any legal action you’re taking to mediate.

You can choose when, where and how mediation happens, giving you much more flexibility than, for example, taking someone to court.

Find a mediator

Search for local mediators in:

If you’re in England or Wales, you’ll be charged on a fixed-fee basis if you mention that you used the Ministry of Justice online directory. This is cheaper than regular mediation fees.

Everyone listed in the Ministry of Justice directory is registered with the Civil Mediation Council and is a professional, experienced mediator.

Find out more about mediation

UK Transition

Take action to prepare your business for new rules from 1 January 2021.

There are actions that your business can take now that do not depend on negotiations with the EU, to prepare for when the UK leaves the Customs Union and Single Market on 31 December 2020.  Find out more here and use the transition checker tool to identify the specific steps you need to take to be ready on 1 January 2021.