Service standard
What you can expect from us
We aim to provide an efficient and effective service and set ourselves challenging goals which are explained in our corporate /business plan each year.
We have a set of aims and principles by which we try to operate.
What does this mean in practice?
If you are making an initial enquiry or complaint, we will:
- usually acknowledge it within three working days of receipt;
- explain what you need to do if we cannot deal with the matter.
Once we have received all your papers:
- we will let you know as soon as possible whether we may be able to investigate your complaint;
- if we cannot investigate your complaint, we will let you know why.
If a complaint is accepted for investigation, we will:
- Deal with cases in order of the date we receive them. If you think that particular circumstances mean that the complaint should be dealt with urgently, please let us know and we will decide whether it should be given priority. Reasons for doing that might include serious illness, or where a scheme is winding up.
- Keep you informed of our progress and developments in our investigation. You are welcome to contact us at any stage to find out how things are going. If things are taking longer than we would normally expect we will let you know.
- Take account of the information and evidence that we are given by all the parties to a complaint. When we reach conclusions on a complaint, we set these out clearly in writing, and we will let you know what information and evidence is particularly relevant to those conclusions.
- Take reasonable steps to ensure that our service is accessible. For example, if you have a visual impairment and require information in large print or Braille; or if you don’t read English, we will try to provide information in a format or language that you find more accessible.
If you telephone us:
- On normal working days our phones are open between 9am and 5pm.
- We will answer the telephone promptly.
- If you leave a message either outside working hours or because the person you are contacting is not available, we will deal with it promptly.
If you are unhappy with our service:
We acknowledge that occasionally, we do not meet the high standards we set ourselves. If you are unhappy with the service you receive, please let the person you are dealing with know. If you wish to make a formal complaint about our service (but not about decisions reached) please write to:
The Casework Director
Office of the Pensions Ombudsman
11 Belgrave Road
London SW1V 1RB
If you still remain unhappy about our service you can ask a Member of Parliament to refer the matter to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. However, the Parliamentary Ombudsman is not able to consider complaints about the decisions or actions of the Pensions Ombudsman nor generally about the decisions of his staff or the way that these decisions were reached.
