Company Investigations
One of the main drivers of The Service's enforcement regime is to clamp down on corporate abuse, whether by directors involved in companies which have become insolvent or by companies which are still trading.
In relation to companies which are still trading, we use powers under the Companies Act to conduct confidential, fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in England, Scotland and Wales. Since October 2009 we have also been responsible for the investigation of companies in Northern Ireland.
Note – the following information relates to the investigation of companies that are actively trading, or which have ceased trading without entering into insolvency proceedings, using powers of investigation under the Companies Acts. For information on investigations into companies which have entered into formal insolvency proceedings see our pages on Insolvent Companies .
Before making a complaint about a company, please make sure you have read the section about "When can The Service investigate" and "When can’t The Service investigate". Having read this, if you feel you wish to continue with your complaint there are various ways to do so:
Online complaints form
Please provide as much of the information asked for as you can, as this will give us the best start to considering your complaint and where we might go for further information. We appreciate that you may not be able to provide all the information requested, but any information you give will greatly help any enquiries that may be undertaken into your allegations.
When you have completed the form, click on the submit button. The following will happen automatically:-
- We will instantly receive a copy of your complaint.
- You will receive immediate confirmation that the complaint has been received.
- You will receive an acknowledgement by e-mail together with a copy of the completed complaint form and a unique reference number.
Open the online complaint form here.
Submitting complaints or intelligence by post
Please send as much information as possible to:
Intelligence Hub
Intelligence & Enforcement Directorate
Investigation and Enforcement Services
Insolvency Service
3rd Floor Cannon House
18 Priory Queensway
Birmingham B4 6FD
Please provide the same basic information as required on our complaint form, otherwise we will only have to ask for it later. This could delay consideration of your complaint.
Alternatively, our email address for matters relating to live companies is: Intelligence.live@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk
Contacting our Investigations Hotline
Our Investigations Hotline number is – 0845 601 3546. This is a 24 hour facility which allows you to leave your contact details so we can acknowledge your contact and send you the appropriate questionnaire. You should note that we do not routinely return calls.
Supporting documentation
You may have a number of documents that you feel support your complaint. This should not prevent you from using the online complaint form or make you feel that you must submit your complaint by post. The complaint form asks you to state what information you have, and our staff will call for relevant information when they consider your complaint. In fact, if your concerns are more appropriate for another public body, there may be no benefit (and unnecessary effort on your part) in sending the documents to us.
Can I complain anonymously?
There is no real benefit in doing so. We will treat any information you provide in strictest confidence. In particular, if we do investigate, we do not tell the company who has made the complaint or what we are looking at. If we decide not to investigate, we do not tell the company that a complaint has been received.
If your concerns are more appropriate for another public body, we would normally pass on your complaint. However, if you do not wish us to do so, please make that clear in your complaint.
Also, if you complain anonymously, we will not be able to obtain further information from you or discuss your concerns, and this could reduce the prospect of an investigation being commenced (by us or any other body).
Insolvency Service Publications:
Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and Failed Companies (DOC, 842 Kb)
