Complaints advisers
This guide assumes you have some knowledge of the types of things we can investigate - see what we can and cannot look at and complaint fact sheets for more information on this.
Can I complain on somebody’s behalf?
If they are able to, we normally expect the person directly affected to complain to us. However, we encourage complaints on behalf of somebody else if the person affected is not able to complain themselves. This can often be because they are too young, have a disability or are without mental capacity.
Anybody can help somebody else complain, but you must have their permission or a right to act on their behalf.
When should I complain to the Ombudsman on behalf of somebody?
We usually expect somebody to complain to us no longer than 12 months after becoming aware of the issue. There are some exceptional circumstances where we will decide to investigate complaints older than 12 months old. This could be where a person was not able to complain, for example due to ill health.
What extra information should I provide?
If you are from an advice agency and are complaining on someone else’s behalf it would be helpful if you could provide us with a direct dial number, and the hours you work, so we can contact you easily.
How do you decide whether you will investigate the complaint?
The process for deciding whether we will investigate has two stages. First we decide whether the law allows us to. See more about What we can and cannot look at.
In the second stage we apply a number of tests. The most important of these is assessing the level of injustice. We will not normally investigate a complaint unless there is good reason to believe that the complainant has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation involved.
Our Assessment Code explains this process in more detail, although people do not need to read this before making a complaint.
If somebody registers a complaint with us, they are sent fact sheets at various stages of the process.
- This fact sheet explains in more detail how we deal with people and their complaints.
- This fact sheet explains in more detail how we investigate a complaint.
How might the investigation improve things for others?
In all our investigations we will consider whether action needs to be taken to avoid the same things happening to others. Our recommendations may include:
- Staff training and awareness
- Reviewing policies and procedures
- Considering whether others have been similarly affected and warrant a remedy
We publish our decisions and complaints data in order to encourage wider learning and support the scrutiny of local services.
Where can I find examples of the type of decisions you make?
We publish all the decisions we make. You can search these decisions by organisation or subject.