Complaints Procedure

Step 1 — Tell us

Email hello@rubbishvans.com with:

• your enquiry reference number (it starts with the brand initials and appears on your confirmation), or your listing reference and account email;
• the vehicle registration;
• what happened, and what you would like us to do about it.

We handle complaints about both sides of the business: our van-buying service (valuations, offers, collection, payment, paperwork) and our marketplace (adverts, listing or introduction fees, refunds, listings we have edited or removed, and the conduct of another user).

Step 2 — Acknowledgement

We acknowledge every complaint within 2 working days and tell you who is handling it.

Step 3 — Investigation and response

We aim to give a full written response within 10 working days. If a case is complex — for example it involves a third-party recovery agent or a treatment facility — we will write to you before day 10 with an explanation and a revised date.

Step 4 — Review

If you are not satisfied with the response, reply and ask for it to be reviewed by a manager. A review is completed within a further 10 working days and is our final response.

Disputes between a buyer and a seller

Where a vehicle was bought from another user through our marketplace, the contract of sale is between the buyer and the seller, as set out in our Terms & Conditions. We are not a party to it and cannot force a refund. We will still investigate, provide the reasonable information we hold, and take action on the advert or the account where our rules have been broken. Private sales are generally “sold as seen”, so a dispute about condition is usually resolved between the parties or through the small claims track of the county court.

Step 5 — Escalating outside our business

• Consumer issues — Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, or your local Trading Standards service.
• Alternative dispute resolution — we are not currently signed up to an ADR scheme; consumers may pursue the small claims track of the county court.
• Data protection — the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. See our Privacy Policy.
• Vehicle disposal and environmental concerns — the Environment Agency (England), SEPA (Scotland) or Natural Resources Wales.
• Suspected stolen or cloned vehicles — the police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously.

Our record

Every complaint is logged against the enquiry, listing or account, reviewed monthly, and used to change how we work. Complaint records are kept for 6 years.