The letter without which 9 ombudsman bodies will not even listen
Most people write a complaint letter hoping someone answers. That is the weaker half of its effect. The stronger one: 9 of the 30 dispute-resolution bodies listed by the Confederation only take up a case once you have complained in writing. Without this letter the file does not exist — it is not the alternative to the ombudsman, it is the ticket in.
Key takeaway
A complaint letter states the date, the facts, the demand and a deadline — and goes in writing, because 9 of the 30 bodies on the federal list require exactly that. For a defect in something you bought, Art. 201 of the Swiss Code of Obligations adds a second rule: notice must be given immediately after discovery, otherwise the goods count as accepted. 14 template letters are available here in Word and PDF.
Every letter cites the provision it rests on and leaves open the fields only you know. The Word file is there to be filled in, the PDF to be printed and signed. Both are produced from the same text as the preview below, and there is no second, older version drifting away somewhere. Your case not among them? For tenancy matters there is the service-charge statement, the sublease and the termination letter.
14 template letters for Switzerland
Pick a letter, fill in the fields, download as Word or PDF. No sign-up, no email address.
The base letter: facts, demand, deadline. Fits when no specific provision applies.
Your details
Preview
Complaint letter (general)ConvivaPlus.ch
[First name Last name]
[Street, postcode, town]
[Company, department]
[Street, postcode, town]
[Place], [DD.MM.YYYY]
Complaint regarding [product or service] — [Number]
Dear Sir or Madam
on [DD.MM.YYYY] I obtained [product or service] from you. The matter is on file under [Number]. The following occurred:
— [What happened? One sentence per point, with the date.]
— [Whom did you contact, when, and what were you told?]
— [What loss or effort did this cause you?]
I ask you to [your demand: repair, replacement, refund of CHF [Amount], credit note].
I set you a deadline of [10] days from receipt of this letter for a written reply. Failing that, I reserve further steps.
Enclosures: [copy of invoice/contract, photographs, previous correspondence]
Yours faithfully
[First name Last name]
Legal basis: Swiss Code of Obligations (SR 220) and Civil Code (SR 210), as at 1 Jan 2025. The English wording is a description, not a quotation — only the German, French and Italian texts are authoritative. Ombudsman offices as listed by the Federal Consumer Affairs Bureau. Not legal advice.
⚖️ ConvivaPlus's own templates, checked against the statutes. Not a substitute for legal advice.
verified · ConvivaPlus
⚖️ Swiss ombudsman bodies: 30 of them, and what they demand
Switzerland has no general consumer ombudsman. It has 30 separate dispute-resolution bodies, one per field. The Federal Consumer Affairs Bureau lists them — as running text, with the fees, but without the two columns that decide matters before you even write.
Those are the ones we added, line by line, at the source: does the body require a prior complaint? and is there a deadline? The result: 9 bodies publish the precondition expressly, and the shortest filing deadline in the whole list is 20 days — it applies to radio and television, counted from the broadcast.
⚖️ The register reflects what the bodies publish — not how they decide an individual case. Not a substitute for legal advice.
verified · ConvivaPlus
Denominator: the "Streitbeilegung" overview of the Federal Consumer Affairs Bureau, published on 14 February 2025. Fees, precondition and deadline come from that overview or — where it is silent — from the body itself; every row carries its source and the date it was checked. "Not published" does not mean "not required": a body may demand the precondition in its form rather than on its home page.
9 of 30
Swiss dispute-resolution bodies expressly publish that they only take up a case once a written complaint has been made to the company.
The instinct is: ombudsman first, and if that leads nowhere I will write. The order is the other way round. For 9 bodies the letter is the formal precondition — skip it and your file comes back, with the time lost.
"Ombudsman services are free" is the sentence you read everywhere — including on this page, for twelve years. Counted against the official list it holds for 16 of the 30. 12 charge a fee or an advance on costs, and the range runs from CHF 20 to CHF 2'000.
Telecommunications: CHF 20
Art. 12 para. 1 of ombudscom's procedural and fee regulations sets the handling fee for customers who call on the conciliation body at CHF 20. Up to CHF 500 where proceedings are abusive.
Post: CHF 20
Ombud-PostCom charges the same handling fee. Providers additionally pay a procedural fee — that one does not touch you.
Financial services: CHF 0 to 400
The bodies recognised by the Federal Department of Finance are not equally priced: FINSOM, the Banking Ombudsman, Terraxis and FINOS free, OFD CHF 150, Swiss Arbitration Centre CHF 100, Ombud Finance Switzerland CHF 400.
The most expensive route: CHF 2'000
An expert decision in a .ch domain-name dispute (SWITCH via the WIPO centre). The mere attempt at conciliation costs CHF 600 there.
Textile cleaning: CHF 80 to 100 — refundable
The joint claims body of Textilpflege charges handling costs but refunds them if the complaint succeeds.
Radio and television: free, with one caveat
The ombudsman bills the broadcaster. Only for a vexatious complaint may the appeal authority impose the procedural costs on the person who filed it. These are the two bodies that appear in neither the free nor the fee column.
Health insurance: free, but from CHF 100
The health-insurance ombudsman works free of charge but, for resource reasons, does not handle cases below that amount in dispute. That is not a fee — it is a threshold.
Context
CHF 20 is not an obstacle, and that is not the point. The point is that the figure appears nowhere before you fill in the form — and that you plan the route wrongly if you assume all 30 bodies are free.
⏱️ Notice of defects: "immediately" means immediately
The costliest misunderstanding in Swiss consumer law is a mix-up between two numbers. Almost everyone knows the two years from Art. 210 CO — and takes them for the time available to complain. They are not. The two years are the limitation period for the claim. The deadline for complaining sits one article earlier and says something else.
Art. 201 para. 1 CO requires the buyer to inspect the goods as soon as is customary in the ordinary course of business and, on finding defects for which the seller is liable, to give notice immediately. Paragraph 2 states what happens if that is omitted: the goods are deemed accepted. (English rendering; only the German, French and Italian texts are authoritative.)
Definition
Notice of defects
Informing the seller of a defect. Art. 201 para. 1 CO requires it immediately after discovery; without it the goods count as accepted under paragraph 2. It is not the two-year limitation period of Art. 210 CO — that one concerns the claim, not the notice.
Three deadlines not to be confused
They run alongside each other, not one after the other — and only the first is lost by simply waiting.
1
Notice of defects: immediately (Art. 201 CO)
From the moment the defect is discovered. Miss it and the goods count as accepted — after which the two-year period is of no help. For a hidden defect the clock starts at discovery, but again immediately.
2
Limitation: two years (Art. 210 para. 1 CO)
From delivery to the buyer, even if the defects are discovered later. A contractual shortening below two years is invalid towards consumers (para. 4), below one year for second-hand goods.
3
Filing deadline of the body: from 20 days
Few bodies publish one. The shortest in the whole register applies to radio and television and runs from the broadcast. Missing it does not forfeit the claim, but it does forfeit the procedure.
Warning
That is why "I will deal with it next week" is, for a purchase defect, the most expensive week of the year — and why the "Notice of defects" template carries the sentence that notice is given immediately after discovery. It is not a courtesy, it is the proof. On the other side of the table the same logic reverses: signing an instalment payment agreement restarts the limitation period, and with the longer deadline.
🛒 Returning an online purchase: there is no such right
Anyone who orders online in Switzerland and changes their mind has no statutory right of withdrawal. That is not an interpretation, it is a list: Art. 40b CO names the situations in which a contract may be revoked, and an online purchase is not among them. The fourteen days exist only there — and only where the customer's consideration exceeds one hundred francs (Art. 40a para. 1 lit. b CO).
a
at the customer's workplace, in residential premises or in their immediate surroundings
b
on public transport or on public roads and squares
c
at a promotional event linked to an excursion or a similar occasion
d
by telephone or a comparable means of simultaneous voice telecommunication
Warning
Copying a German template sends the reader nowhere: what applies there does not apply here. What remains in Switzerland is the warranty — under Art. 197 CO the seller is liable for the absence of defects. Large retailers grant returns voluntarily; that is their terms and conditions, not your right, and it can end at any time.
✍️ Writing a complaint: the seven parts
A letter that works reads like a record, not like an outburst. It says what happened, what you want, and by when — the other side needs no more, and the ombudsman body will accept no less.
1 · Your address and the reference
Customer, contract or invoice number belongs in the subject line. Without it the letter lands in the wrong file — and that costs the deadline you have just set.
2 · The facts, date by date
One sentence per event, with the date. No adjectives. Write "outrageous" and you hand the other side the most convenient excuse: to answer only the tone.
3 · What you have already done
Dated calls, ticket numbers, the function (not the name) of the people involved. It doubles as proof of the precondition should the matter go to a dispute-resolution body.
4 · The legal basis, if there is one
A single fitting article beats five scattered ones. Notice of defects: Art. 201 and 205 CO. Defect in a rented property: Art. 259a and 259d CO. Noise: Art. 684 CC. No provision fits? Then leave it out.
5 · The demand, in concrete terms
Repair, replacement, refund of CHF X, credit note. "I expect an appropriate solution" is not a demand, it is an invitation to wait.
6 · The deadline
Ten days from receipt is customary and enough. A deadline without a date is not one; a deadline without a stated next step barely is either.
7 · The next step, named
"Failing agreement, I will turn to …" — then the name of the competent body. That is not a threat, it is the procedure, and it shows you know it.
🏢 Complaining to the landlord: the day that counts
With a defect in a flat, what decides is not how long it has existed but when the landlord learned of it. Art. 259d CO ties the rent reduction to exactly that: it applies from the moment the landlord learns of the defect until it is remedied. A phone call cannot be dated, a letter can — which is why the receipt of this letter is the reference date.
Context
First remedy (Art. 259a para. 1 lit. a CO), then reduction. If the landlord stays idle despite knowing and despite a reasonable deadline, Art. 259b CO opens the harder routes — up to having the work done at his cost. How much reduction is customary in which situation is set out under rent reduction for defects; the condition itself belongs in a defects list. If it is the bill rather than a defect, the matter is a rent increase, and that one carries the shortest deadline in tenancy law.
📡 Complaining to a telecom provider
Telecommunications is the field where the precondition is published most clearly: a conciliation request to ombudscom may only be filed after an attempt has been made to find a negotiated solution with the provider concerned. And it costs you CHF 20 — the provider between CHF 200 and CHF 3,000.
Context
That asymmetry is the real lever: twenty francs for you, up to three thousand for the provider — regardless of who turns out to be right. A letter announcing the procedure is therefore usually cheaper for the other side than the procedure itself. That is precisely what the "Telecom provider complaint" template says.
⚠️ The mistakes that cost a sound claim
None of these is a matter of style. Every one of them has already brought down a justified claim.
⚠️
Phoning first, then waiting. A call has no date. Under Art. 201 CO everything hangs on the moment of notice, and it is for the buyer to prove it.
⚠️
Treating the two-year period as the notice period. The two years are the limitation period; notice must be given immediately.
⚠️
Insisting on a right of withdrawal for an online order. It does not exist in Switzerland (Art. 40b CO) — the other side knows this, and the whole letter loses weight.
⚠️
Calling the dispute-resolution body before complaining in writing. With 9 of the 30 bodies the file comes straight back.
⚠️
Setting a deadline without saying what follows. A deadline without a consequence is a wish.
⚠️
Sending every enclosure as an original. Copies suffice; you may need the originals yourself later.
⚠️
Packing several disputes into one letter and weighting them equally. The other side then answers the easiest and stays silent on the most expensive.
⚠️
Writing a complaint letter against an official decision instead of lodging an appeal. There a deadline runs that an informal letter does not preserve.
Switzerland has no general right of complaint. It has 30 doors, and 9 of them open only with a letter in your hand.
🧭 Five steps to the letter
From the blank page to the registered letter — and, if needed, on to the competent body.
1
Gather the documents
Invoice or contract, date of purchase and of discovery, prior correspondence, photographs. What you cannot find now will be missing later in the procedure.
2
Look up the competent body
Pick the sector in the Complaint Compass. It shows the body, its fees and whether it requires this letter — 9 of 30 do.
3
Choose a template and fill it in
Take the fitting letter from the 14 templates. The Word file carries the fields in square brackets; replace every one of them.
4
Set a deadline and send registered
Ten days from receipt. Registered post where receipt matters — always for withdrawal and for notice of defects, not needed for a simple complaint.
5
Await the answer, then go to conciliation
If no answer comes, or an unsatisfactory one, a copy of this letter goes with the conciliation request as proof. There is a template for that too.
Warning
This page organises what the statutes and the dispute-resolution bodies publish. It decides no individual case and is no substitute for legal advice — least of all where an official decision with an appeal deadline has been issued.
💎 Gold nugget
Send the letter by registered post and file the receipt unopened. Not because of the other side — because of the dispute-resolution body. It wants proof that you tried directly first, and the date on that receipt is the one piece of evidence nobody can dispute. For a withdrawal there is more: Art. 40e para. 1 CO expressly places the burden of proving timely withdrawal on you.
📊
Quick poll60 votes
How did your last written complaint end?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
❓ Complaint letter FAQ
The questions that come before the writing — each with the provision or source the answer rests on.
Legally almost never required; evidentially often necessary. Wherever receipt on a particular date matters, send it registered: for a notice of defects (Art. 201 CO requires notice "immediately", and the buyer must prove the moment) and for a withdrawal (Art. 40e para. 1 CO expressly places the burden of proof on the customer). For a simple complaint an ordinary letter or an email with a read receipt will do.
Source: Art. 201, Art. 40e para. 1 CO
Helpful?
Immediately after discovering it. Art. 201 para. 1 CO requires notice as soon as is customary in the ordinary course of business; paragraph 2 says the goods otherwise count as accepted. The often-quoted two years of Art. 210 para. 1 CO are something else: they are the limitation period for the warranty claim, counted from delivery. Both run alongside each other — missing the first makes the second useless.
Source: Art. 201, Art. 210 para. 1 CO
Helpful?
No, not by law. Art. 40b CO lists the situations giving a right of withdrawal exhaustively: an offer at the workplace or in residential premises, on public transport or public roads and squares, at a promotional event linked to an excursion, or by telephone. Online purchases are not among them. Where the right does exist the period is fourteen days (Art. 40e para. 2 CO), and it only applies where the customer's consideration exceeds CHF 100 (Art. 40a para. 1 lit. b). Many retailers grant returns voluntarily — that is their terms, not a right.
Source: Art. 40a, 40b, 40e CO
Helpful?
Not all of them. Of the 30 bodies listed by the Federal Consumer Affairs Bureau, 16 work without a fee for consumers. 12 charge a fee or an advance: ombudscom CHF 20 (Art. 12 para. 1 of its regulations, up to CHF 500 for abusive filings), Ombud-PostCom likewise CHF 20, the Ombudsstelle Finanzdienstleister CHF 150, Ombud Finance Switzerland CHF 400 to open a case, an expert decision on a domain name up to CHF 2'000.
Source: Federal Consumer Affairs Bureau overview, 14.02.2025
Helpful?
For 9 of the 30 bodies this is expressly published — among them ombudscom, Ombud-PostCom, the e-commerce ombudsman, the public-transport ombudsman, the private-insurance ombudsman, the Banking Ombudsman, the TCS/AGVS conciliation bodies, Inkasso Suisse and the meat ombudsman. For the others the checked source is silent, which does not mean it is not required. In practice: write first, conciliate second.
Source: Federal overview, bodies' own websites
Helpful?
For the bodies we checked, expressly not. The public-transport ombudsman states that it can compel neither the transport company nor the traveller and that its position is "not binding" in that sense. The private-insurance ombudsman notes that it cannot assume any judicial or arbitral function. The health-insurance ombudsman is not a court. A binding decision comes only from a judge — which does not devalue the route, it explains why it is fast and cheap.
Set a final deadline with the consequence stated. Art. 107 para. 1 CO allows a reasonable additional period to be set for a defaulting counterparty; if that too expires, paragraph 2 allows you — if you declare it without delay — to waive performance and either claim damages or rescind the contract. That is exactly what the "Final deadline with notice of rescission" template is for. The route to the dispute-resolution body runs in parallel.
Source: Art. 107 CO
Helpful?
Yes. A reduced price changes nothing about liability under Art. 197 CO — the seller is liable for promised qualities and for the absence of defects, even where the defects were unknown to him (para. 2). It is different only for a defect expressly pointed out at the sale: that one forms part of what was agreed. A clause shortening limitation below two years against a consumer (one year for second-hand goods) is invalid.
Source: Art. 197, Art. 210 para. 4 CO
Helpful?
Art. 684 of the Civil Code obliges everyone exercising property rights to refrain from excessive effects on neighbouring property; paragraph 2 names noise expressly. The decisive word is "excessive" — not every sound is prohibited, only what is not justified by the location, the nature of the properties or local custom. Every successful noise complaint therefore starts with a log: date, time from and to, type of noise. In a tenancy Art. 257f CO adds that tenants must show consideration for occupants and neighbours, and the landlord may terminate after a written warning.
Source: Art. 684 CC, Art. 257f CO
Helpful?
Yes, from the day he learned of it. Art. 259d CO gives the tenant the right to a proportionate reduction from the moment the landlord learns of the defect until it is remedied. So it is the date of the letter that counts, not the date of the defect. The first choice remains remedy (Art. 259a para. 1 lit. a); if that does not follow despite a reasonable deadline, Art. 259b opens the further routes.
The payment order costs, depending on the amount, from a few dozen to a few hundred francs in advance. Before that, an instalment agreement is almost always worth trying — with a side effect on limitation that is worth knowing.
With the official form and within 30 days of receipt — the shortest deadline in practical tenancy law, and one of the few that cannot be made up later.
Swiss Code of Obligations (SR 220) →Art. 40a–40e (withdrawal), 107 (additional period), 197/201/205/210 (warranty), 257f and 259a–259d (tenancy). Authoritative in German, French and Italian.
02
Swiss Civil Code (SR 210) →Art. 684 (excessive effects, noise named expressly) and Art. 679 (removal and damages).
Ombudsman of private insurance and Suva →The procedure is free for complainants — and mediation begins only after you have tried to solve the problem directly with the insurer.
Health insurance ombudsman →Free for those seeking advice, competent for basic and supplementary insurance; cases below CHF 100 in dispute are not handled.
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
💡Did you know?
12 of the 30 Swiss dispute-resolution bodies charge money — ombudscom CHF 20, a domain-name decision up to CHF 2'000. "Ombudsman services are free" holds for 16 of 30.
Ho scaricato il modello Word in italiano e l'ho compilato in dieci minuti. La parte utile è che la lettera cita già l'articolo giusto — non devo cercarlo io.
P
Peter S.from Chur
Der Punkt mit OR 201 hat mich Geld gekostet, bevor ich ihn kannte. Ich dachte, ich hätte zwei Jahre Zeit zum Reklamieren. Die zwei Jahre sind die Verjährung — rügen muss man sofort.
S
Sylvie D.from Lausanne
Merci pour le modèle en français — et surtout pour la précision sur l'art. 40b CO. J'étais persuadée d'avoir 14 jours pour renvoyer un achat en ligne. C'est faux en Suisse, et personne ne le dit clairement.
CP
ConvivaPlus Editorial
Merci. Art. 40b zählt die vier Fälle abschliessend auf, der Onlinekauf ist nicht dabei. Was bleibt, ist die Gewährleistung nach Art. 197 ff. — dafür ist die Vorlage «Reklamation Online-Bestellung» da.
A
Andrea M.from Basel
Dass ombudscom zwanzig Franken kostet, wusste ich nicht. Überall steht «kostenlose Ombudsstellen». Die Tabelle hier ist die erste, die je Stelle sagt, was wirklich anfällt.
R
Reto H.from Winterthur
Ich ha bim Telecom-Anbieter zwei Mal aaglütet und nüt erreicht. Denn han i gläse, dass d Schlichtigsstell gar nöd inegaht, solang me nöd schriftlich reklamiert hät. Brief gschickt, zäh Täg gwartet — und plötzlich hend sie sich gmeldet.
CP
ConvivaPlus Editorial
Genau darum steht die Vorbedingung bei uns vor den Vorlagen und nicht im Kleingedruckten. Der Brief ist bei 9 von 30 Stellen die Eintrittskarte, ohne ihn liegt das Verfahren gar nicht vor.
