How to Complain

Find out how to make a complaint

Thinking of complaining to us?

You first need to have complained to the organisation involved, and given them chance to respond. See our video for more information:

 

Summary of the key steps to making a complaint:

1. First complain to the organisation involved

  • You must give them a chance to put things right before complaining to us

  • You should go through all stages of their complaints procedure

See also: Top tips for making a complaint

2. Complain to us

  • If your problem has not been put right

  • If you have not had a response within a reasonable time. This should usually be within 12 weeks but may be longer for social care complaints that follow a statutory process

3. Be aware there are some things we cannot look at

In most cases, we cannot investigate if you have not:

  • complained to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter

  • been directly affected by the matter - we call this 'personal injustice'

4. How we deal with your complaint

  • We will take a first look at your complaint and advise on the next steps 

  • Then we will assess whether we can and should investigate

  • If we investigate, we may ask you and the organisation for more information 

  • We publish our final decisions on our website. We don’t use real names

 

Detailed information on making a complaint:

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