Standards / Complaints
How to complain

Do you believe that a publisher regulated by Impress has breached our Standards Code? We are here to help.

A thriving media sector and vigorous debate go hand in hand. We have years of experience resolving disagreements and handling complaints between publications, content creators and individuals fairly when it is needed.

If you believe that there is a risk of immediate harm to you resulting from a publication’s news content or the conduct of a journalist, you can contact us on 020 3325 4288.

Steps to raising a complaint with Impress:

Step 1
Do we regulate the publisher in question?

We can only handle complaints against publishers who are regulated under the Impress regulatory scheme.

Please check the full list of publications regulated by Impress to confirm prior to raising a complaint.

Complaints can be made regarding:

  • A publication’s news content
  • The behaviour or conduct of a journalist working for a publication
Step 2
Complain to the publication directly first

Raise your concerns directly with the publisher first. This could be the fastest way to solve your complaint.

We expect the publishers we regulate to have an adequate and speedy in-house complaints procedure. They should make it straightforward to complain, and they should resolve your complaint within 21 calendar days of receiving it*.

If you do not wish to contact the publisher directly, we can contact them on your behalf and act as a third-party intermediary. To do so, please send the following information to complaints@impressorg.com:

  • A summary of your complaint
  • Permission for us to share your name and complaint details with the publisher

If a publisher doesn’t resolve your complaint within 21 days, or you’re not satisfied with their response, move to STEP 3: we want to hear from you.

*You can come to us sooner if you believe there is a risk of immediate harm to you and the publisher has not acted quickly enough to prevent such harm occurring.

Step 3
Make your complaint to Impress

If you have completed the previous two steps and are not satisfied with the publisher’s response (STEP 2), you can submit a complaint to Impress by emailing us at complaints@impressorg.com.

We can only handle complaints that:

  • relate to our Standards Code
  • are made within four months of you becoming aware of the content and/or when the action took place, but no later than 12 months of the original date of publication or action.

Submit a complaint

    You are required to first contact the publication directly about your complaint before escalating to Impress. Contact details for our publishers can be found here.

    Please note that Impress can only consider escalating your complaint and bypassing the opportunity for the publisher to resolve the matter in exceptional circumstances, for example where there is a risk of immediate harm to you.

    Please provide any further details in relation to your complaint.

    Standards Clause(s) Breached*

    Please specify at least one of the Impress Standards Code clauses that you believe has been breached.

    1.1 Accuracy1.2 Accuracy1.3 Accuracy1.4 Accuracy2.1 Attribution2.2 Attribution3.1 Children3.2 Children3.3 Children3.4 Children4.1 Discrimination4.2 Discrimination4.3 Discrimination5.1 Harassment5.2 Harassment6.1 Justice6.2 Justice6.3 Justice6.4 Justice6.5 Justice7.1 Privacy7.2 Privacy7.3 Privacy8.1 Sources8.2 Sources8.3 Sources9.1 Self Harm & Suicide9.2 Self-Harm & Suicide10.1 Transparency10.2 Transparency10.3 Transparency10.4 Transparency10.5 Transparency

    Please provide Impress with the publisher's final decision response to your complaint. You may also provide any further correspondence relevant to your complaint.

    Please make sure that your file is 2MB or less and in a JPEG, JPG, PNG or PDF format.

    OR

    Alternatively you can submit a complaint via email to complaints@impressorg.com with the following information:

    • The name of the publication you are complaining about.
    • The article or act you are complaining about.
    • The date of publication.
    • A summary of your complaint.
    • Which Standards Code clauses you believe have been breached.
    • The publisher’s response to your complaint.
    • Your requested remedy, along with any other information you feel is relevant to your complaint.