A look at the lives and opinions of three hard-to-please consumer crusaders who fight for the rights of dissatisfied customers. Alan is a cocky, streetwise hardman; Barry a boisterous businessman; and David Birkin a short but bullish campaigner whose chief grievance is the ripeness of fruit sold at Tesco. Alan Birkin and two carpet salesmen also appear in Dominic Savage's documentary Rogue Males, where the origins of Birkin's dispute over a carpet purchase are first seen. While the salesmen form part of the wider ensemble in Rogue Males, The Complainers shifts its focus to Birkin, making him one of the documentary's central figures as the dispute continues.