Responding quickly to your enquiries

We aim to respond to e-mails and telephone calls promptly.  Contact us on enquiries@asa.org.uk or on 020 7492 2222.  Our business hours are 9.00am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Our aim is to reply to all correspondence within 10 working days.

Dealing thoroughly with your complaint

Download the ASA's procedures for dealing with complaints about broadcast advertisements
Download the ASA's procedures for dealing with complaints about non-broadcast advertisements

We aim to resolve complaints without undue delay, but complaints that require investigation take longer than the average.  The assessment of complaints by commercial competitors can be protracted.

If you decide to complain to the ASA about an advertisement, we are committed to acknowledging your complaint within five days of receiving it. If your complaint is not for us, but for another regulatory body, we shall tell you at this point; otherwise we shall tell you how our procedures will be applied.

If your complaint falls within the remit of the ASA, we shall consider whether there has been a possible breach of the codes. We shall keep you informed of progress with the handling of your complaint at intervals of no longer than 15 working days.

From the point at which we decide to take up your complaint, a named executive will be in charge of the case and will act as a continuing point of contact with you.

If you are dissatisfied with the ASA's decision on your complaint you may be able to request a review by the Independent Reviewer of ASA Adjudications provided you write to him at 5th Floor, 21 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LP (fax: 020 7580 7057, e-mail: indrev@asbof.co.uk) within 21 days of receiving our formal adjudication. Details of the Review procedure are set out in the codes.

Being accessible to complainants

Our website www.asa.org.uk gives access to the codes, explains how we operate, gives details of all ASA adjudications, and enables complainants to register their concerns online.

Members of staff will at all times identify themselves by name and endeavour to be as polite and helpful as possible. If you feel that a member of staff is not living up to the high standards we set ourselves, you should write to the Director General, who will look into the matter.

The ASA is independent of government and the advertising industry. A majority of our Council are members of the public who are appointed by an open selection process of advertisement followed by a series of interviews.

We shall continue to investigate complaints free of charge.  The ASA does not cost the taxpayer anything.

Being open and accountable

Starting from 1 January, we shall publish performance statistics on a quarterly basis on our website showing the number of complaints received and resolved and the average time taken to deal with different classes of complaints.