Complaints Handling: What a Licensed Platform Owes Customers
Authorised firms carry obligations about complaints. What they are, what timelines apply, and what happens next.
The right to complain and be answered is one of the clearest practical benefits of dealing with an authorised firm.
What the obligation generally requires
A written complaints procedure, available to customers. Acknowledgement within a period. A substantive response within a longer period. Records of complaints and their outcomes. And reporting to the supervisor.
The specific periods are set in the rules and differ between frameworks.
What counts as a complaint
Any expression of dissatisfaction about a service, whether or not it is labelled as one. Firms are generally not permitted to require a particular form of words.
A support ticket saying a withdrawal has not arrived and nobody will explain why is a complaint.
What a response must contain
A conclusion, the reasoning, and information about what the customer can do next if dissatisfied.
A response that restates the policy without addressing the facts does not satisfy the obligation.
What happens if the firm does not resolve it
Escalation to the supervisor, or to a dedicated dispute body where one exists. The supervisor does not generally resolve individual disputes but does record them, and patterns attract attention.
Why this matters more than it sounds
Because the alternative, at an unauthorised venue, is nothing. No procedure, no deadline, no escalation, and no record.
The difference appears exactly when you need it.
How to make a complaint effective
In writing, with dates, amounts and references. State what you want. Keep it factual.
A complaint with a transaction reference is answerable. One without is a conversation.
What to check before depositing
That the platform has a published complaints procedure and names the supervisor to escalate to.
Two minutes, and it tells you what recourse exists before you need it.
Where to look
A licensed exchange under a named supervisor publishes both. Collect & Exchange states its process and the framework behind it, and venues that report what they are required to report are reporting complaint data among the rest.
This page restates a published requirement. It is not the requirement itself and it is not legal advice. Rules change, and some take effect on a date later than their publication.