Complainer UI Walkthrough

Overview

The Complainer UI allows you to manually process spam complaints by pasting raw email content. EmailElement extracts the recipient, identifies the contact, and adds them to the appropriate suppression list. This is useful when you receive complaints from third-party services that do not integrate directly with your ESP's feedback loop.

Sources of Raw Email Complaints

Raw email complaints can come from:

• Spamhaus — sends abuse reports with full email headers and body

• LashBack — monitors suppression list compliance and sends violation reports

• Direct inbox complaints — a recipient forwards the spam email to you or your abuse address

  

• ISP abuse desks — ISPs forward the original email with complaint details

• Feedback loop services — some feedback loops provide the raw email content

Step 1: Access the Complainers Tab

1. Navigate to Contact History from the sidebar

   

2. Click the Complainers tab (next to the Contact Search tab)

   

3. You will see a large text area for pasting raw email content

   

Step 2: Paste the Raw Email

1. Copy the full raw email from the complaint source

   • This must include the complete email headers (From, To, Subject, Message-ID, etc.)
   • The email body should also be included

2. Paste the raw email content into the text area

   

3. EmailElement parses the headers to identify the original recipient

Step 3: Suppress the Email

1. Click Suppress Email

   

2. EmailElement processes the raw email:

   • Extracts the recipient email address from the headers
   • Searches for the contact across all Contact Lists
   • If found, adds the contact as a complainer to the appropriate Suppression List

3. A confirmation message shows the suppressed email address

   

4. If the contact cannot be identified from the raw email, an error message is displayed

Step 4: Copy and Verify

1. Click Copy to copy the suppressed email address to your clipboard

   

2. Switch to the Contact Search tab

   

3. Paste the email address into the search field

4. Click Search

   

5. Verify the contact's profile shows:

   • The Suppression Lists section includes the list they were added to

     

   • The suppression reason indicates "Complainer" or "Spam Complaint"

Step 5: View Complaint Data

Dashboard

• Navigate to the Dashboard

• Complaint counts are shown in campaign summary cards

  

• Click the complaint count to jump to the corresponding Delivery Event

  

• The Delivery Event shows the full details of the original send

Reports

• Navigate to Reports

• Complaint rates are included in campaign performance metrics

  

• Monitor complaint rates over time to identify content or targeting issues

• High complaint rates (above 0.1%) require immediate attention

Best Practices

• Process complaints promptly — delayed suppression leads to repeated sends and more complaints
• Always verify the suppression was applied by searching in the Contact Search tab
• If you receive complaints from a specific domain or ISP, review your content and targeting for that audience
• Set up Webhooks with the Complained event type to automate complaint processing in your own systems
• Use Bounce Rules to auto-suppress patterns if you see repeated complaint sources