Get the information yourself
Build your evidence file
One chronology and one evidence index. This is the single highest-value hour you can spend before any complaint or application.
What this problem looks like
- Your documents are spread across email, post and screenshots.
- You know something was said on a call but cannot say when.
- Every time you explain the dispute it comes out in a different order.
What you are trying to establish
- One chronology: date, who contacted whom, what was asked, what was answered, what was decided.
- One evidence index: a numbered list of every document, with its date, source and what it proves.
- Which entries in the chronology have no document behind them — those are your gaps.
Evidence to collect
- Every letter, in date order, scanned or photographed legibly.
- Statements and the transaction history.
- Call notes made at the time, or made immediately afterwards, with date and time.
- Fees added, with dates and amounts.
- Payments made, with dates and amounts.
- Proposals made, deadlines given and outcomes.
What to ask for
- Nothing yet. Building the file first means every later request is specific, and specific requests are much harder to deflect.
What a useful answer looks like
- You can produce a one-page chronology and a numbered bundle where every assertion is tied to a document number.
- Any adviser, investigator or judge can follow your case in five minutes.
What an inadequate answer looks like
- A folder of undated screenshots.
- A narrative with no document references.
Next escalation
- Use the gaps in the file to decide what to request, and which tool to use — SAR for personal data, ordinary request for documents.
Example letters for this stage
- Request to preserve documents and data — Used where enforcement or proceedings are anticipated, to ask that relevant material is not deleted under routine retention policies.
Official sources
Elsewhere in this archive
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This is information, not legal advice
Nothing here is legal advice and no professional relationship arises from reading it. Time limits apply to complaints and to court steps. Free help is available from Citizens Advice, StepChange and Shelter.