You can complain to us if an organisation has not acted properly or fairly or has given you a poor service and not put things right. Our service is free and open to everyone.
We make final decisions on complaints that have not been sorted out by the NHS in England and UK government departments and some other UK public organisations.
As an independent decision-maker, we do this fairly and without taking sides. We aren’t a consumer champion, a regulator or an advocacy organisation. Find out more about organisations that can help you make your complaint here.
NHS
NHS organisations include, for example:
- dentists
- GPs
- NHS hospitals or
- care in a private hospital if it was paid for by the NHS.
We can also look into complaints about NHS continuing healthcare.
Find out more about complaining about the NHS in England.
Government departments
Government departments and services include, for example:
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
- HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
- Jobcentre Plus or
- the Passport Office.
Find out more about complaining about government departments.
Making recommendations
If we decide that the organisation has got things wrong, we may make recommendations for it to put them right. This can include explanations, apologies and recommendations for the service to learn and improve. Find out more about what you can expect.
Getting started
Please use our complaint checker tool. It only takes a few minutes but may save you time by making sure that we are the right organisation to look into your complaint. It will also make sure that your complaint is ready for us to look at.