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From HMCTS - EX343 - Complaint Form attached
We understand that if something goes wrong, you want us to resolve it quickly and accurately. We want to know when we do not deliver the service you expect so that we can put things right and learn from your experience.
This leaflet tells you how to make a complaint about the administrative service we have provided.
You can make a complaint by phone or in writing. Because we want to sort things out quickly for you, please contact the office where the problem arose. It is best placed to resolve your complaint and will try to do so promptly. If your complaint needs looking into further, we will aim to respond to you within 10 working days. We try to resolve all complaints at this first stage but will tell you what to do next if you are not satisfied with the reply.
Review
If you are not happy with the reply to your complaint or the way it was handled, you can ask the senior manager at the office where your complaint arose to carry out a review. You should explain why you are not satisfied. The manager will aim to respond to you within 10 working days.
Appeal
If you are not satisfied with the senior manager’s reply, you can appeal to the Complaints, Correspondence and Litigation Team (CCL) Team. Their contact details will be provided to you by the senior manager who conducted the review.
The CCL Team will take a fresh look at the way the court or tribunal handled your complaint and aim to reply to you within 15 working days.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
If you remain dissatisfied with the reply from the CCL Team, you can ask the Ombudsman to look again at your complaint. The PHSO is an independent organisation which investigates complaints where a customer has been treated unfairly or has received poor service from a government department.
If your complaint is about a court or tribunal in England and Wales or a tribunal in Scotland which is part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), you need to ask an MP to refer your complaint to the PHSO.
To find the contact details of your local MP, go to http://findyourmp.parliament.uk or contact the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272.
If you would like more information about the work of the PHSO, you can contact their office on 0345 015 4033, email to phso.enquires@ombudsman.org.uk or visit the website at www.ombudsman.org.uk.
For complaints about Scottish courts and Scottish tribunals that are not part of HMCTS, see below.
Scotland
If your complaint is about any court in Scotland, or a tribunal in Scotland which is not part of HMCTS, contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. More information on how to do this can be found on their website at www.spso.org.uk or by telephoning the helpline on 0800 377 7330.
When we cannot help
Judicial decisions
If you feel that a decision made by a judge is incorrect, the proper course of action is to consider whether to appeal the decision. We cannot help you to decide this or resolve it through the administrative complaints process so we suggest you seek legal advice.
Judicial conduct
If you have a complaint about the way a tribunal judge or panel member, a court judge or magistrate has behaved towards you, you must lodge your complaint with the relevant office within three months from when this happened.
i) For judges sitting in Crown and County courts, High Court or Court of Appeal contact the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, Room 81-82, Queen’s Building, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL, or email, inbox@jcio.gsi.gov.uk or make your complaint online at http://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk/
ii) for magistrates, contact the court and they will give you details of the local Advisory Committee.
iii) for tribunal judges and members, contact the office where the problem arose and they will tell you whether your complaint should be sent to the Regional Judge, Tribunal President or the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (see above)
We understand that if something goes wrong, you want us to resolve it quickly and accurately. We want to know when we do not deliver the service you expect so that we can put things right and learn from your experience.
This leaflet tells you how to make a complaint about the administrative service we have provided.
Complaints Procedure
Who do I contact?You can make a complaint by phone or in writing. Because we want to sort things out quickly for you, please contact the office where the problem arose. It is best placed to resolve your complaint and will try to do so promptly. If your complaint needs looking into further, we will aim to respond to you within 10 working days. We try to resolve all complaints at this first stage but will tell you what to do next if you are not satisfied with the reply.
Review
If you are not happy with the reply to your complaint or the way it was handled, you can ask the senior manager at the office where your complaint arose to carry out a review. You should explain why you are not satisfied. The manager will aim to respond to you within 10 working days.
Appeal
If you are not satisfied with the senior manager’s reply, you can appeal to the Complaints, Correspondence and Litigation Team (CCL) Team. Their contact details will be provided to you by the senior manager who conducted the review.
The CCL Team will take a fresh look at the way the court or tribunal handled your complaint and aim to reply to you within 15 working days.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
If you remain dissatisfied with the reply from the CCL Team, you can ask the Ombudsman to look again at your complaint. The PHSO is an independent organisation which investigates complaints where a customer has been treated unfairly or has received poor service from a government department.
If your complaint is about a court or tribunal in England and Wales or a tribunal in Scotland which is part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), you need to ask an MP to refer your complaint to the PHSO.
To find the contact details of your local MP, go to http://findyourmp.parliament.uk or contact the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272.
If you would like more information about the work of the PHSO, you can contact their office on 0345 015 4033, email to phso.enquires@ombudsman.org.uk or visit the website at www.ombudsman.org.uk.
For complaints about Scottish courts and Scottish tribunals that are not part of HMCTS, see below.
Scotland
If your complaint is about any court in Scotland, or a tribunal in Scotland which is not part of HMCTS, contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. More information on how to do this can be found on their website at www.spso.org.uk or by telephoning the helpline on 0800 377 7330.
When we cannot help
Judicial decisions
If you feel that a decision made by a judge is incorrect, the proper course of action is to consider whether to appeal the decision. We cannot help you to decide this or resolve it through the administrative complaints process so we suggest you seek legal advice.
Judicial conduct
If you have a complaint about the way a tribunal judge or panel member, a court judge or magistrate has behaved towards you, you must lodge your complaint with the relevant office within three months from when this happened.
i) For judges sitting in Crown and County courts, High Court or Court of Appeal contact the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, Room 81-82, Queen’s Building, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL, or email, inbox@jcio.gsi.gov.uk or make your complaint online at http://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk/
ii) for magistrates, contact the court and they will give you details of the local Advisory Committee.
iii) for tribunal judges and members, contact the office where the problem arose and they will tell you whether your complaint should be sent to the Regional Judge, Tribunal President or the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (see above)
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