HOW TO COMPLAIN TO THE OMBUDSMAN

Usually, before you complain to me, you will be expected to have first put your complaint to the organisation concerned using its internal complaints procedure and any complaints adjudicators appointed. However, there may be circumstances where you find this difficult, and I may be prepared to accept your complaint directly.

The flow chart below may help you to decide what your next course of action should be.

If you are in any doubt about whether or not to complain to me, please contact my Office.

If, having used the organisation's complaints procedure you remain dissatisfied, you should bring your complaint to my attention. The easiest way to do this is to complete the complaint form. However, if you prefer, you may write a letter of complaint to me. So that your complaint can be dealt with as quickly as possible, you should ensure that you tell me which organisation you are complaining about, what you are complaining about and how you have suffered as a result. It would also help my consideration of your complaint if you enclose any relevant correspondence/documentation along with your complaint. If you have difficulty in writing you should contact my Office for assistance.
If you are complaining about a government department or agency, your complaint must be referred to me by a Member of The Assembly (MLA). You should therefore send your completed complaint form, or letter of complaint, to your chosen MLA asking him/her to refer your complaint to me. In such cases all correspondence will be sent to your chosen MLA, who will then keep you informed. If you have difficulty in identifying or contacting an MLA you should contact my Office for assistance.
If you are complaining about a public body you should send your completed complaint form, or letter of complaint, directly to me at the following address:

The Ombudsman
Freepost BEL 1478
Belfast
BT1 6BR

In such cases all correspondence in relation to your complaint will be sent directly to you.

When I receive your complaint, either directly from you or where necessary from your chosen MLA, it will be examined to see whether it is one which is within my power to investigate and, if so, whether I should investigate.

If I decide not to proceed with an investigation of your complaint you should be informed within one week of this decision and the reasons for it. However, it should be borne in mind that, if there are a lot of papers involved, or new or difficult issues are raised, the decision whether to investigate may take slightly longer.

As a first step in my investigation of a complaint I will generally send a summary of your complaint to the organisation concerned, asking them for both their comments and relevant copy papers. If it is considered to be necessary, I may arrange for an Investigating Officer to speak to the organisation and/or you the complainant. Once this has been completed, I will write to you, or your chosen MLA, informing you whether or not I propose to continue with my investigation and explaining the reasons for that decision. You should receive this reply within 13 working weeks.

If I decide to continue with my investigation this will involve an extremely thorough consideration of each aspect of your complaint. It should be noted that this process is long and detailed, taking months rather than weeks. At its conclusion I will send a detailed report to you, or your chosen MLA. You should receive this report within 12 months.

NOTE: Even when I have decided to investigate, that does NOT in itself require an organisation to halt any action they may be taking in relation to the matters under investigation, nor stop them dealing with any other aspect of your affairs.

Summaries of cases which I, and my predecessors, have investigated are contained in the Office's Annual Reports. These reports also contain details of the operation of the Office and additional statistical information.