Helen Dewdney is a consumer champion and freelance journalist who uses her platform to empower consumers to gain any redress they might be entitled to while helping businesses increase sales. Currently working as a consultant, author, journalist and speaker, she is committed to using her knowledge to educate others. Helen is best known for her blog, The Complaining Cow, which has been running since 2012 and has been named the UK’s longest-running and most comprehensive consumer site written by an individual. Being a credible and authentic expert in consumer matters, Helen is a highly regarded keynote speaker.
Having spent her early career as a Development Manager for the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries, Thurrock Council and Programme Manager for the Children's Fund in Essex, Helen gained valuable experience in the business world. This knowledge later became useful in validating her advice and furthering her credibility. After leaving her career behind and becoming a full-time freelance journalist, Helen found success through her no-nonsense and direct style blog and being the presenter of The Complaining Cow Consumer Show on East London Radio. Throughout her journalism career, Helen has written for various outlets, including The Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Metro and Good Housekeeping.
In her later career, Helen has written two best-selling books, How to Complain: The Essential Consumer Guide to Getting Refunds, Redress and Results! and 101 Habits of an Effective Complainer. Due to her ongoing successes, Helen has appeared on various media outlets, including The One Show, Morning Live, BBC Breakfast, and BBC Radio 2, 4 and 5. She has also worked with companies small and big, such as Lloyds and Tesco, to give examples. Helen’s passion and drive within her industry led her to regularly respond to Government consultations, such as for the CAA and Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy feeding into the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill and Regulators’ consultations.
Helen co-authored the investigative reports Ombudsman Omnishambles: Serious Unresolved Issues Affecting the Operation of the Ombudsman ADR System in the UK and More Ombudsman Omnishambles: The UK ADR Landscape 20 Months On… which looked at the approval and oversight of ADR schemes. She continues to expose failings in that sector. The report Whirlpool - The Tumble Dryer Story Without The Spin combines the whole story of the appliance fires in one document. Due to her successful career, Helen is now highly sought after as a keynote speaker on business topics such as sales, consumer patterns, and consumer champions. She strives to inspire her listeners through her past experiences, knowledge and originality in her speeches. Known for using creativity, participatory, and improvisational methods in her speeches, Helen is a great choice for encouraging and empowering. To learn more about how to utilise customers to business advantage or how to complain efficiently, hire Helen Dewdney today!
In 2024, we sat down with Helen Dewdney in an official interview to discuss the value of loyal customers and how to deal with complaints.
Social Media
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Books
How to complain: The Essential Customer Guide to Getting Refunds, Redress and Results!
101 Habits of an Effective Complainer
How to hire Helen Dewdney
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Helen Dewdney for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Helen Dewdney's speaking topics are listed below:
- How to increase sales by turning customers into superfans
- How to exceed customer expectations and increase sales
- How to handle complaints so that customers still rave about you
- What is a Consumer Champion and how can they help in your business?
- Gaining and retaining customers (even when they complain)
- The importance of considering terms and conditions and customer service when you start your business
- Treating customers as individuals, reducing risk to reputation, finances and impact on vulnerable customers
- How to approach a complaint effectively to get redress
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"Helen's talk at The Law in 60 Seconds Public Legal Education Conference was truly brilliant. A clear expert in her field - she was passionate and engaging and turned what could have been a dull topic into something interactive, funny, thought provoking and genuinely valuable. Helen lives what she teaches and as such it makes it easy to trust the valuable insights she provides. It can be daunting to stand up to large organisations who have acted inappropriately, but Helen gives you the tools to do just this in a calm and effective way. Attendees of her talk no doubt will have left feeling much more confident as a result of her advice. I can categorically say that I have!" - Christian, Barrister & Author
"Helen is an insightful, engaging and passionate speaker and writer on the topic of consumer rights. She never shies away from holding large organisations to account over their customer service complaint handling malpractices, and she provides straightforward and clear advice for those organisations that want to change and are willing to listen." - Chris, Editor of MyCustomer.com
"Helen has been an expert on my shows for about 5 years. Very few “experts” connect with the audience like her. Sometimes it feels like they are being talked to by a robot who doesn’t live in the real world. Not with Helen, she brings her own challenges and things even she needs to do and the audience understand. I honestly believe on a show like mine it makes people listen. I know I certainly do." - Eddie, MBE
"I recently heard Helen present which included a lot of improvisation. She wowed her audience, included everybody and was fantastically entertaining and engaging. Highly recommend you book Helen for your speaking gig." - Rachel, Credit Controller
"Entertaining, engaging, and an all-round Good Egg! Helen is unique in presenting complicated matters, with authority, knowledge and humour. If you are looking for guidance in turning your clients and customers into raving fans, speak to Helen, she will take you through the consumer journey and how to deal with complaints effectively and get the best results for YOU, your clients and company. Brilliant speaker and writer. I would highly recommend Helen for your conference, training or company event 5*****”. - Linda, Personal Travel Agent
"Helen did a great session for my membership of home cake and food business owners talking about how to deal with complaints and pre-empt them, as well as how to get customer feedback and raving reviews. It was in depth and covered so many ideas that the membership was chatting about it for the whole of the following week! The session was relaxed and Q&A led, meaning everyone could be heard and have their questions answered on the spot. Thank you again Helen." - Sarah, Sugarcraft Tutor & Sugar Artist
"When Helen spoke as part of the Happiness Summit, I found her to be funny and well-versed in her field. The blend of the two obviously helps get the message across." - Victoria, Founder, Manifestation Kitchen
"Helen Dewdney is a one-woman consumer revolution. Accurate, clear and straightforward." - Paul, Financial Journalist
"I had the pleasure of Helen’s company for a guest expert session today, and it was amazing! She covered complaint handling with our community, and it was informative and interactive, a valuable session for all. Our members are at different stages of their subscription box journeys, and we discussed various topics that can help them with complaint handling, such as making sure your terms and conditions are clear and showing details of what a customer can expect if they have a complaint. Helen also discussed how to prevent complaints and the importance of exceeding expectations. This is all information that our community can take away and start to implement, which is very useful. You need to book Helen to come in and chat! You won’t be disappointed!" - Victoria, The Business Box
- 2022 - Became a Radio Presenter for her show, The Complaining Cow Consumer Show
- 2019 - Wrote and Published her second book
- 2014 - Wrote and Published her first book
- 2013 - Became a freelance Journalist
- 2012 - Appointed School Governor
- 2012 - Started her blog, The Complaining Cow
- 2012 - Freelance Children's Services Consultant
- 2011 - Consultant Director for EverClever
- 2005 - Children’s Fund Programme Manager & Play Lead Officer for Essex County Council
- 2000 - Development Manager for Thurrock Council
- 1998 - Board member setting up London Play
- 1997 - Development Manager for the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries
- 1989 - Mencap volunteer group work and onboard