Consumer complaint in Italy: reclamo and escalation

Quick answer

A complaint (reclamo) is your written, dated request asking an Italian company to fix a problem with goods, a service or a bill. Include your customer or contract number, the facts, the remedy you want and copies of evidence, and ask for a reasoned written reply (risposta scritta e motivata). In regulated sectors the company must answer within a set deadline, such as 30 days for electricity and gas or 60 days for most banking complaints. If it does not, or you reject the answer, the reclamo opens the way to the sector’s out-of-court body, such as ConciliaWeb for phone and internet or the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario (banking ombudsman) for banks.

This guide covers consumer complaints to companies in Italy and the out-of-court bodies that deal with them. It is general information, not legal advice: rules depend on the sector and, for goods, on the contract date. To end a subscription, see our guide to cancelling a contract in Italy; to demand money that is already due, see payment demands in Italy. Tenancies and insurance policies have their own guides: rental letters and cancelling insurance.

What to put in a reclamo

Use the complaints address, form or PEC address given in your contract, on your bill or in the company’s service charter (carta dei servizi). Give your customer, contract, order or invoice number, the dates and facts, earlier contacts with their reference numbers, and exactly what you want: a repair, a replacement, a corrected bill, a refund of a stated amount or an explanation. Enclose copies of bills, receipts, photographs and correspondence; keep the originals.

A dated, written complaint starts several clocks: the company’s reply deadline, the 40 or 50 days before you can turn to the conciliation service of ARERA, the energy and water regulator, and the 12 months within which you can apply to the banking, investment or insurance ombudsman (ABF, ACF or Arbitro Assicurativo). Even if a company takes complaints by phone, a written reclamo records what you asked and when.

Add your address, the company’s complaints address and the date, replace every placeholder and describe only what happened in your case. The example does not claim compensation you have not checked.

Oggetto: Reclamo — [numero cliente o numero di contratto]

Spett.le [Società],

con la presente intendo presentare reclamo in merito a [prodotto, servizio o fattura] ([numero di ordine o di fattura, se pertinente]).

In data [data] [descrizione breve e oggettiva dei fatti]. Ho già segnalato il problema il [data] tramite [canale] (numero di pratica [numero, se disponibile]), ma non è stato risolto.

Vi chiedo pertanto [richiesta precisa: ad esempio la riparazione o la sostituzione del prodotto, la rettifica della fattura o il rimborso di [importo] euro]. [Se pertinente: l’importo è calcolato come segue: [calcolo].] Allego copia dei seguenti documenti: [elenco].

Vi prego di inviarmi, all’indirizzo [indirizzo postale, e-mail o PEC], una risposta scritta e motivata entro il termine previsto dalla normativa applicabile o dalla Vostra carta dei servizi, indicando il numero assegnato al reclamo.

Distinti saluti [Nome e cognome]

Reply deadlines and escalation by sector

For phone and internet, the 45-day limit comes from art. 8 of Allegato A to Delibera 179/03/CSP; a rejection must be written and reasoned. Under the rules of AGCOM, the communications regulator (Delibera 203/18/CONS, as amended), you cannot take the operator to court before a conciliation attempt. ConciliaWeb, the online platform for conciliation before the regional communications committees (CORECOM), is free; you log in with an Italian digital identity (SPID or CIE) or an eIDAS-recognised EU identity. If the attempt has not taken place within 30 days of your application, you can go to court anyway; if it fails, you can ask for a binding decision (definizione) within three months.

For electricity, gas and water, the free ARERA Servizio Conciliazione is likewise required before court. If an electricity or gas supplier misses its 30-day deadline, ARERA’s TIQV rules generally entitle you to an automatic indemnity (indennizzo automatico), starting at €30, on a later bill.

The ABF charges a €20 contribution, as does the Arbitro Assicurativo, which has accepted cases since 15 January 2026; in both cases the €20 is refunded to you if your claim is upheld in whole or in part. The ACF is free. All three are filed online. IVASS, the insurance supervisor, accepts complaints by PEC, email or post but cannot settle your individual dispute or set the amount owed. Before suing over a banking, financial or insurance contract, a mediation attempt is required (art. 5 D.Lgs. 28/2010); an ABF, ACF or Arbitro Assicurativo procedure can also satisfy it.

For a cancelled or long-delayed flight from Italy, complain to the airline first (Regulation (EC) 261/2004). After six weeks without a reply, or after an unsatisfactory one, you can complain to ENAC, Italy’s civil aviation authority, which can sanction the airline but does not obtain compensation for you.

Faulty goods: the legal guarantee

For goods bought from a business, the seller, not the manufacturer, is responsible under the legal guarantee of conformity (garanzia legale di conformità, art. 128 ss. Codice del consumo). For contracts concluded from 1 January 2022, the seller is liable for any defect that existed at delivery and appears within two years (art. 133); a defect that appears within one year is presumed to have existed at delivery (art. 135).

Ask first for repair or replacement, free of charge and within a reasonable time. If the seller refuses or fails, the defect returns or it is serious, you can ask for a proportionate price reduction or, unless the defect is minor, end the contract (artt. 135-bis and 135-ter). The current text sets no separate deadline for reporting a defect, but a court action is time-barred 26 months after delivery (art. 133, comma 3). For used goods, the contract can shorten these periods to no less than one year. A commercial guarantee (garanzia convenzionale) does not reduce your rights against the seller (art. 135-quinquies).

Purchases from another EU country

If you live in Italy and bought from a trader in another EU country, Italy’s European Consumer Centre (Centro Europeo Consumatori Italia, ECC-Net Italia) gives free advice and can take up your complaint through the European Consumer Centres network once your own request to the trader has failed. If you live in another EU country and the trader is Italian, contact the European Consumer Centre in your own country. ECC Italia does not handle disputes in which the consumer and the trader are both in Italy.

If the company does not reply

Count the deadline for your sector from the date the company received your complaint. If it has passed, or the reply ignores your points, send a short reminder (sollecito), then turn to the body for your sector. The reminder is not a new complaint, and escalation deadlines still run from your original reclamo. Name an out-of-court body only if it covers your case.

Oggetto: Sollecito di risposta al reclamo del [data] — [numero cliente o numero di contratto]

Spett.le [Società],

in data [data] Vi ho inviato tramite [canale] un reclamo relativo a [oggetto] (numero di pratica [numero, se disponibile]). Ne allego copia insieme a [prova di invio o di ricezione].

Ad oggi non ho ricevuto alcuna risposta. [In alternativa: la risposta del [data] non affronta [punto specifico].]

Vi chiedo di inviarmi una risposta scritta e motivata al reclamo del [data]. Il presente sollecito si riferisce a tale reclamo e non lo sostituisce.

In mancanza di riscontro, mi riservo di rivolgermi a [organismo competente, ad esempio CORECOM tramite ConciliaWeb, Servizio Conciliazione ARERA o Arbitro Bancario Finanziario].

Distinti saluti [Nome e cognome]

Post your letter and keep evidence

Upload your final PDF or write the letter in MaisonMail, and add copies of your evidence. Use the complaints address from your contract, bill or service charter. The recipient address determines the destination; available services, estimated delivery and the final price appear before payment. Many Italian companies also accept complaints by online form, email or PEC, and ConciliaWeb, the ABF, the ACF and the Arbitro Assicurativo are filed online: your posted letter is the complaint to the company, not that filing. Where proof of receipt matters, a raccomandata con avviso di ricevimento (registered letter with return receipt, raccomandata A/R) or a PEC is commonly used in Italy; a standard or tracked letter is not a raccomandata A/R. Keep a copy of the exact letter and attachments. Tracking shows that an item was delivered, not what the envelope contained.