Claims Policy & Complaint Procedures 2026/2027 – E-commerce, Customer Service & Excel | Word/PDF

Complaint Policy Template 2026/2027 – right to complain, customer service, and Excel

Do you need to create a legally sound complaint policy for your online store while simultaneously implementing clear procedures for customer service? This professional package provides you with a customer-friendly complaint policy, internal handling procedures, ready-made templates for customer responses, decision support, and an Excel register to track actual complaint cases.

You receive 15 files in Word, searchable PDF, and Excel. The five main templates are in Swedish. A Swedish and an English user guide are included. The products are designed for companies selling goods to consumers, primarily within e-commerce, as well as a separate supplement for certain consumer services.

Important distinction: A complaint policy deals with defects in goods or services. It does not replace a return policy with a right of withdrawal, voluntary right of return (open purchase), or a warranty. You must not write terms that restrict the consumer's mandatory rights under consumer protection legislation.

Excel register for complaints – nine tabs and dashboard

Excel contains the tabs Overview, Cases, Goods, Services, Evidence, Actions, Communication, Quality Analysis, and Read me. Register actual complaints with a consistent case ID and link the same ID to relevant evidence, decisions, and follow-ups.

The dashboard displays eight administrative KPIs: registered complaints, open cases, closed cases, registered defects in goods, registered services, ongoing actions, sent customer notifications, and open improvements. A new empty workbook shows zero – this should not be interpreted as any legal or quality assessment having already been made.

Excel has selectable case and action statuses, as well as separate fields for order, defect, delivery date, communication, and quality improvements. The files do not contain any real or fictional customer registers. The dashboard's counting functions have been tested with temporary cases not included in the delivery.

Limitation: Excel does not automatically calculate the complaint deadline, burden of proof, right to cancellation, or the legality of a rejection. An administrative status such as "Closed" does not automatically mean that the consumer's rights have ceased.

How to implement a complaint policy – step by step

1. Determine the type of sale: consumer purchase of goods, goods with digital elements, standalone digital content, or certain services. Different rules may apply.
2. Specify the seller: registered company name, correct contact information, actually functioning email, and relevant web address.
3. Adapt the customer-facing policy to your range. Remove the information boxes and replace all bracketed placeholders.
4. Preserve the consumer's mandatory rights: do not introduce arbitrary shorter complaint deadlines, requirements for original packaging, or outdated restrictions.
5. Describe the complaint process so that the customer understands how a defect is reported and what documentation may be relevant.
6. Distinguish between warranty, complaint, right of return, and right of withdrawal in both the policy and customer service instructions.
7. Determine internal roles: who receives, investigates, decides, approves, and follows up on a complaint?
8. Register cases in Excel with case ID and limited personal data. Save images and other evidence in appropriately secured storage.
9. Send factual customer notifications: use acknowledgment of receipt and decision letters after individual assessment of law and factual basis.
10. Follow up on improvements and update the policy when laws, range, business models, or company processes change.

Right to complain in Sweden – what applies in 2026/2027?

Three-year right to complain for goods

According to the Consumer Sales Act (2022:260), consumers normally have the right to complain about original defects in goods for three years from delivery. For goods with digital elements, the liability may cover longer periods for the digital function depending on how the agreement is designed. Therefore, the policy should not claim that all defects and all digital products always have the exact same liability period.

Complaint within two months and burden of proof during the first two years

The consumer should complain within a reasonable time from when the defect was discovered or should have been discovered. A complaint within two months from the time the consumer noticed the defect is always considered to have been made in time. Thus, two months is not an absolute final date that the seller may use to automatically reject every later complaint.

For consumer purchases of goods, there is normally a presumption of defect for issues that appear within the first two years from delivery, with specific rules and exceptions. Thereafter, the question of what the buyer must demonstrate may be assessed differently. The product's decision letter includes fields to document the actual assessment.

Remedy, replacement, price reduction, and cancellation

If a good is defective and the trader is liable under the law, remedy (repair), replacement, price reduction, or cancellation may become relevant, as well as damages in certain cases and the right to withhold payment. The possibility of demanding a specific remedy depends on the conditions of the law and actual circumstances. The company may not force the consumer to waive statutory options through a general policy.

Services can be covered by a three- or ten-year right to complain

The Consumer Services Act (1985:716) may apply to, among other things, work on movable property, storage, and work on land, buildings, or other fixed property. The complaint period is normally three years for certain services, but can be ten years for such work on fixed property. Not all services are covered by the Consumer Services Act; for example, treatment of persons and animals and certain transport services fall outside its general scope of application. Therefore, use the separate service template only after an actual legal delimitation.

Is a complaint the same thing as a right of withdrawal or a warranty?

No. The right to complain applies to defects according to law. The right of withdrawal may apply to distance contracts even if there is no defect. A warranty is a voluntary promise that may provide additional rights but not restrict the right to complain. Right of return (open purchase) and right of exchange can be voluntary offers with separate conditions. The package's templates explicitly distinguish these concepts.

Related document templates at Mallbutiken.se

• Return Policy & Right of Withdrawal E-commerce – complements the complaint policy with specific rules for distance contracts and return conditions.
• Complaint Letter for Goods & Services – for the consumer who wants to submit a written notice of defect.
• Complaint Register & Return Handling – expanded customer service and return administration in Excel.
• General Terms & Conditions – E-commerce & Business – ensure that purchase and complaint terms do not contradict each other.

Frequently asked questions about complaint policies

What should a complaint policy contain?

It should describe who the seller is, how the customer complains, what information may be needed, how the case is handled, what legal solutions might be relevant, and how the customer receives feedback. Mandatory consumer rights must not be restricted.

How long does the consumer have to complain?

For consumer purchases of ordinary goods, the main rule is three years from delivery. Specific rules may apply for digital parts and for different services.

Does the customer have to complain within exactly two months?

No. A complaint within two months after discovery is always considered to have been made in time, but even a later complaint can be within a reasonable time depending on the circumstances.

Can the company refuse a complaint without original packaging?

Not generally. The absence of original packaging does not invalidate the consumer's statutory right to complain.

Can the complaint policy be used for e-commerce?

Yes, especially the customer-facing policy for goods. It needs to be supplemented with actual company details, publishing links, and a separate return and right of withdrawal policy where relevant.

Are complaint decisions and rejection letters included?

Yes. There is an editable decision letter with fields for actual investigation, applicable law, selected remedy, and justification. It is not an automatic basis for rejection.

Is a complaint register included in Excel?

Yes. There are nine tabs, an administrative dashboard, fields for goods, services, evidence, customer communication, and actions, as well as eight KPIs.

Are all services covered by a ten-year right to complain?

No. Ten years may apply to certain work on land, buildings, and other fixed property, but different services are covered by other rules and certain types of agreements fall outside the Consumer Services Act.

Are English policy texts included?

No. The five main templates are in Swedish. An English User Guide is included, but no separate English version of the complaint policy.

Official sources and document version

• The Swedish Parliament – Consumer Sales Act (2022:260)
• Swedish Consumer Agency – Consumer Sales Act for companies
• Swedish Consumer Agency – Consumer Services Act for companies
• Swedish Consumer Agency – Complain about a good

Svenska Dokumentmallar · Version 1.0 – 2026/2027 · Source check 2026-10-18 · Swedish consumer law · Word (DOCX), searchable PDF, and Excel (XLSX).