This paper is intended to raise key issues in relation to complaint procedures being developed in conjunction with code compliance monitoring and verification initiatives for the garment and footwear industry. As often as possible, examples drawn from the experiences of existing complaint mechanisms are used to highlight these issues. Generally, these come from experiences with systems that have been set up by multi-stakeholder initiatives: the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), the Fair Labour Association (FLA), the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Social Accountability International (SAI), and the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF).