Complaints board for goods and services
Frequently asked questions
The complaints board for goods and services can treat the majority of disputes between consumers and sellers due to contracts regarding purchase of goods or services.
The conditions for the board to take proceedings:
Complaint is submitted by a consumer. A consumer is an individual who has purchased goods or services for a fee, provided that the purchase was not made for professional or business purposes.
The complaint is are directed against a seller. A seller may be an individual, company, public entity and others who appear for professional purposes and enter into agreements with consumers, as well as anyone who appears for professional purposes on behalf of the seller.
The consumer has attempted to resolve the matter directly with the seller.
The dispute falls within the jurisdiction of the Complaint Board
All information on how to file a complaint can be found here.
The consumer must provide key information about the goods or services purchased and clearly describe the dispute that has arisen in the transaction and in communications with the seller. The consumer must also state the claim(s) being made or the outcome sought in the case.
The following information should be included in the complaint:
Consumer information
Name, ID number (kennitala), address, telephone number and email address
Information on the seller
Name, ID number (kennitala), address, telephone number and email address
If communication has taken place between the consumer and a specific employee of the seller by email, it is advisable to include that employee’s email address in the complaint.
Information about the goods or services
Information about the agreement between the parties
The total amount paid for the goods or services
Relevant dates
A clear description of the dispute in the case
Claims made by the consumer against the seller and justification for those claims
When a complaint is submitted to the Board, it is important to include all documents necessary to support and prove the claim. The board usually does not collect documents itself and it is therefore important that all referenced documents are provided. The case’s conclusion will be based on the information provided by case parties and the submitted documents.
Examples of documents that may be useful to include with a complaint:
Confirmation of payment for goods or services
Agreement between the parties
Invoices
Photographs
Terms and conditions
Written communication between the parties
Written expert opinion
The consumer must pay a complaint fee of ISK 5,000 when the complaint has been completed, before it is submitted to the Board.
If the consumer's claim is accepted in whole or in part, the complaint fee will be refunded. If the parties notify the Board of a settlement after the complaint has been submitted, the case fee will also be refunded to the consumer.
The consumer has the right to withdraw from the proceedings at any stage, but in that case, the case fee will not be refunded.
The Board generally processes cases in the order they are received. Due to the number of cases handled by the Board, the estimated processing time is approximately 7–10 months.
Rulings are published for case parties with a digital announcement or by other verifiable means. The rulings are also published on the complaint board‘s site after all personal information on case parties have been removed.
The complaint boards rulings cannot be appealed to other governmental authorities but the disagreement can be brought to court by traditional means.
The seller must contact the consumer to obtain necessary information to make the payment in accordance with the ruling.
The seller can announce to the complaints board that he will not accept the ruling within 30 days from when the ruling is announced. If that is announced the ruling will not be binding for case parties. The ruling will become legally binding after 30 days. Following an announcement from a seller, information on the announcement will be published on the complaints board website, where the board publishes a list of sellers who do not accept the board rulings, according to article 15 of regulation no. 1177/2019 on the complaints board for goods and services.
The board does not assist in enforcing rulings.
The consumer can seek enforcement of the decision based on the Enforcement Act No. 90/1989. At the consumers request the board can issue a certificate that confirms that the ruling can be enforced. The certificate can be provided to court along with the ruling and a request for enforcement.