ConsumerWise checklists turn complex disputes into repeatable tasks: define the issue, preserve evidence, calculate deadlines, complain, audit the response and escalate correctly.
A checklist is most useful before a complaint becomes large. It reduces missed documents and deadlines and helps separate different routes.
Use checklists as prompts, not rigid legal tests. A case may require additional sector-specific steps.
Key points
- Complaint checklist: issue, chronology, evidence, impact, remedy.
- SAR checklist: scope, receipt, ID/clarification, deadline, categories received/missing.
- Ombudsman checklist: eligibility, final response, scope, evidence, referral deadline.
- Credit-reporting checklist: account history, notices, CRA entries, dispute records.
- FOI checklist: request, 20-working-day deadline, refusal, internal review, ICO.
Before sending a complaint
- Can someone identify each issue in under two minutes?
- Does every important date have supporting evidence?
- Have you stated the outcome sought?
- Have you checked the external escalation deadline?
When a response arrives
- Does it answer every important issue?
- Does it use the correct framework?
- Are dates/facts correct?
- Does it engage decisive evidence?
- Does the remedy follow from the findings?
A stage-by-stage dispute checklist
Before complaining: define the issues, identify the outcome you want, save the governing documents and create a chronology. When the response arrives: mark each issue answered, partly answered or unanswered; test factual statements against the evidence; identify any new reason or framework; and record the response date. Before escalation: check eligibility and time limits, obtain the final response where required, reduce the evidence to a focused index and explain the remedy sought. After escalation: preserve every version and keep new events separate from the historic dispute unless they genuinely change the scope.
Checklists should expose gaps, not create paperwork for its own sake
If a checklist item does not matter to the issue, leave it out. The aim is to reduce cognitive load and prevent omissions. A five-document evidence set that directly proves the chronology can be stronger than a 200-page attachment bundle with no index or explanation.
In practice
- Print or save the checklist relevant to the dispute.
- Tick off evidence before escalation.
- Use the response-audit tool after a final response.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Choose sector checklist.
- Complete factual/evidence fields.
- Diary deadlines.
- Use linked templates/tools.
Common traps
Things that often confuse the issue
- Treating checklist completion as proof of legal entitlement.
- Ignoring unusual facts because they are not on the checklist.