Complain about a limited company

    You can complain to the Insolvency Service, Companies House or the Serious Fraud Office if you suspect a limited company or its directors of fraud or serious misconduct.

    Complain to the Insolvency Service

    You can complain to the Insolvency Service if you have reasonable grounds to suspect a company of:

    • causing significant harm to customers, suppliers etc
    • breaking the law, eg fraud
    • serious misconduct
    • having a significant irregularity in its affairs

    You can also report someone who’s disqualified as a director, but is taking part in the management of a company.

    What happens next

    If the Insolvency Service decides that your complaint is serious enough, they will either:

    • carry out a confidential investigation
    • pass your complaint on to another public body, if appropriate – tell them if you don’t want them to do this

    If they find anything wrong and have enough evidence, they may ask a court to:

    • close the company down
    • disqualify the company’s directors

    If they find an offence may have been committed, they’ll send a report to the appropriate authority, who will decide whether to carry out a criminal investigation.

    What can’t be investigated

    The Insolvency Service won’t usually investigate complaints where:

    • there’s no public interest (eg an internal company dispute)
    • an investigation by somebody else is already underway
    • the main issue is that the company isn’t paying its debts

    How to complain

    Complain about a company using the Insolvency Service’s online complaints form

    You can email them at Intelligence.Live@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk.

    You can also write to them:

    Intelligence Hub

    Investigations and Enforcement Services

    Insolvency Service

    3rd Floor Cannon House

    18 Priory Queensway

    Birmingham

    B4 6FD

    Give as much information as you can when you complain.

    Complain to Companies House

    Companies House deals with complaints about companies that fail to file documents such as annual accounts or returns, or file fraudulent documents.

    If you suspect a company of breaking the law on the filing of documents, email the details to fraud@companieshouse.gov.uk.

    Serious and complex fraud

    If your complaint relates to a serious and complex fraud involving more than £1 million, check the Serious Fraud Office’s criteria for taking on cases to see if you should report it to them.