How is a complaint handled

The authority handling a complaint reads the complaint and its attachments and makes a first assessment of it. They get the additional information they need and may also ask for help and information from other authorities. The authority may ask the person who complained for more information and, if necessary, talk to the person again after obtaining all the information.

The authority will ask the object of the complaint for a separate report. To produce this report, the object of the complaint will be given all the documents and evidence that the person who complained sent in. If necessary, the authority talks to the object of the complaint.

An authority will usually not handle a complaint if    

• it concerns a matter that is more than two years old
• it does not include the name of the person who made it, or if it has too little information about the matter it concerns
• the complaint is obviously groundless or the matter is so small that there are no grounds for an investigation
• the same complaint has already been processed earlier or a final decision has been made on it
• the matter is being handled by another authority or it can still be appealed against
• the authority in question does not have the powers to handle the matter.

If an authority decides not to handle a complaint, the person who complained will be informed at once.

Yes. The object of the complaint will be told who complained about them when the authority handling the complaint asks them to give their view of the matter. However, the person’s name may sometimes be kept secret if there is a special reason for this.

Complaint documents are usually public documents. This means that anybody can look at them if they wish. If the documents contain secret information, including information about a person’s health or business secrets, the authority will black out the secret information before copies of the documents are given to anyone.

The handling times vary from a few weeks to several months. For example, it takes the Parliamentary Ombudsman on average about three months to handle a complaint. You can ask how long it will take to handle your complaint.

When an authority has handled a complaint, they inform both the person who complained and the object of the complaint about their decision. Usually the decision is sent to you by mail or e-mail.