Get a complaints handling policy that matches how complaints are actually managed

A separate policy is often worthwhile when customer issues are handled by more than one person, complaints come in through different channels, or your current website wording is too brief to guide staff properly. A short statement in your terms may not explain who logs a complaint, how it is escalated or what response steps apply. A dedicated policy can be especially useful for online sellers, service businesses and brands that handle refunds, quality concerns, pricing complaints or promotional issues on a recurring basis.

It will usually cover how customers can make a complaint, what information they should provide, who in the business receives it, how the complaint is assessed, when it is escalated and how outcomes are communicated. Many businesses also include expected response stages, recordkeeping practices and links to related policies such as refunds or customer support terms. The wording should match the actual process your team follows, because a policy that says one thing while staff do another can create unnecessary customer and compliance risk.

The drafting depends on how complaints arise in your business and how they are handled in practice. We look at factors such as whether you sell goods, services or both, whether complaints come in by email, website form, phone or in person, and whether issues are handled by frontline staff or escalated to management. If your business runs promotions or special offers, the terms need to reflect the actual promotion mechanics and prize structure where those issues affect complaint pathways. That helps keep the policy aligned with real operations.

No. This service is about the complaints handling policy document and the legal wording that supports it. It does not include permit applications, marketing review, or representing your business in a dispute or regulator investigation. Requirements can vary depending on the context and the way a promotion or campaign runs, and separate advice may be needed if a complaint relates to advertising mechanics or external approvals. If that broader support is needed, we can scope it as additional work rather than folding it into the policy drafting.

Once the policy wording is settled, the next step is usually implementation. That may involve publishing the policy in the right place, aligning customer support scripts, and checking that related documents such as refund terms or promotional terms do not contradict it. If your team handles complaints across multiple channels, it is worth making sure the same escalation path is used in practice. Ongoing monitoring, staff training and future updates are not automatically included, but we can assist with further legal documents if your complaint process changes.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Complaints Handling Policy service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.