How to raise a complaint

1What counts as a complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction with our service that requires a response from us. It can be about a specific mechanic visit, the booking system, billing, or anything else where you feel we haven't met the standard you expected.

We treat every complaint seriously, whether it's a minor inconvenience or something that's caused real harm. You don't need to use the word "complaint" — telling us that something went wrong is enough.

2Before you raise a formal complaint

If you're not sure whether your issue needs a formal complaint, or you want to try something faster first, these routes are often quicker:

• Booking-specific issues: Use the "Report an issue" button on the booking detail page in your dashboard. This routes directly to the booking team and is usually answered same-day.
• Warranty claims: If something we fixed has failed, our Warranty page sets out a separate (faster) process — quote your booking reference and we'll handle it without a formal complaint.
• Billing queries: For invoice questions or refund requests, our Help Centre has self-service options and direct contact for our billing team.

If you've tried those and you're still not satisfied, or your issue is more serious than any of those routes handle — please raise a formal complaint. We want to know.

3How to raise a complaint

You can complain by any of these methods. They all reach our complaints team and they all carry the same response time.

• Email: complaints@honcarservice.co.uk
• Phone: 023 8039 2879 (Mon–Fri 8am–6pm) — we'll record the conversation with your consent and confirm in writing
• Post: Complaints Team, Hon Car Service Ltd, 79 Captains Place, Southampton, England, SO14 3TF
• Via our help centre: The "Raise a complaint" form at honcarservice.co.uk/help routes directly to our team

If you have a disability or other access need that means none of the above works for you, please tell us and we'll find an accessible alternative. Examples include large-print correspondence, BSL interpretation for phone calls, or extending response times where you need additional support.

4What to include

You don't need to write a formal letter — plain English is fine. The more of the following you can include, the faster we can investigate.

Even if you only have some of this, send it anyway — we'll come back and ask for what's missing.

5Our three-stage process

Every formal complaint follows the same path. If we resolve it at Stage 1, we stop there — you don't have to escalate. If you're not satisfied, you can move it to the next stage.

6What we can do to put things right

Depending on the complaint, our response may include any combination of:

1. An explanation and an apology. Sometimes that's what's needed — an honest account of what went wrong and a recognition that we let you down.
2. A revisit. A Hon mechanic returns to redo the work, or to inspect and resolve an issue that arose from the original visit.
3. A refund. Full or partial refund of what you paid, where the service didn't deliver what was promised.
4. Compensation. Where you've incurred costs because of our error (recovery, alternative transport, third-party repair we agreed to), we'll cover them where it's reasonable and we have evidence.
5. Process changes. Where a complaint reveals a recurring issue, we change our process so the next customer doesn't have the same experience.

7If you're a mechanic on our platform

Mechanics can raise complaints about platform decisions (suspensions, payouts, ratings, customer behaviour) through the same process. Use mechanics@honcarservice.co.uk rather than the customer complaints address — your case is handled by a different team with the right context for platform issues.

If your mechanic account has been suspended and you can't access your dashboard, see the contact details on the Suspended Account page. Quoting your suspension case reference (HCS-SUSP-XXXX) gets you to the right team fastest.

8Independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

If our Stage 2 decision doesn't resolve things, you have the right to refer the matter to an independent ADR provider. ADR is faster, cheaper, and less stressful than going to court, and the provider's decision is binding on us.

If your complaint is eligible for ADR, we will confirm the certified provider that can review it when we issue our final response:

9If you're a vulnerable customer

"Vulnerable" can mean lots of things — a health condition, a recent bereavement, English not being your first language, financial difficulty, disability, or being in a stressful life event. If any of these affect how easy it is for you to handle a complaint, please tell us. We won't ask intrusive questions — we'll just adjust.

What we might do:

• Slow the process down so you have time to read and respond
• Offer a single named person who handles your case end-to-end rather than passing you between agents
• Provide written summaries of any phone conversations
• Arrange BSL interpretation or other language support
• Communicate by your preferred method (email, post, phone, video) rather than insisting on a specific channel

10How we handle complaints data

We keep records of complaints for 6 years after closure, in line with general business record-keeping practice and our obligations to the ADR provider. The records are used to:

• Resolve the specific case (during the active complaint)
• Demonstrate our process and decisions to the ADR provider if escalated
• Identify systemic issues across multiple complaints and improve our service
• Meet our regulatory record-keeping obligations

Complaints data is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You have the right to request a copy of the complaint file we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if it contains inaccuracies.

11Contact us