How Long Do You Have to File a Consumer Complaint: An Illustrative Scenario

To make the general position concrete, here is an illustrative, hypothetical situation (not a real case) that raises this question.

The illustrative scenario

The question

This raises an obvious question:

How the general rule applies

Under s.69 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, a consumer complaint must generally be filed within 2 years from the date the cause of action arose.

A delay can be condoned for sufficient cause under s.69(2), and the National Commission continued to apply this limitation period as recently as February 2026.

Generally 2 years from when the cause of action arose, under s.69 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019. The commission can condone a delay for sufficient cause.

What often gets missed in situations like this

• Assuming an ongoing dispute or correspondence automatically extends the limitation period — it does not, unless the commission condones the delay for sufficient cause.
• Waiting to gather every document before filing — filing in time and supplementing documents later is usually safer than missing the limitation period.

As noted above, this scenario is a constructed illustration used to explain the general rule — it does not describe a real client, case, or outcome.

For the general rules, see How Long Do You Have to File a Consumer Complaint?, Which Consumer Commission Should You File In?, and Filing a Consumer Complaint Online Through e-Jagriti.

If you would like this looked at against your own facts, a consultation is a reasonable next step.

This is general, educational information and not legal advice. Specific facts can change the analysis, so a qualified advocate should review your situation before you act.