Jump to content

How we will deal with your complaint

This page explains what will happen after you have made your complaint, and what you can do if you are not happy with how we have handled it.

We will try to resolve your complaint as soon as possible. However, some complaints are complex and will require more detailed investigation.

If we cannot deal with your complaint immediately, we will let you know who is dealing with it. We aim to give a full response within 20 working days. If your complaint alleges serious professional misconduct by our staff or people working for us, it may take up to 12 weeks to carry out a detailed, independent investigation. We may contact you during an investigation for further information.

If you are not happy with how your complaint has been handled

If you do not think your complaint has been dealt with correctly by the port, office or detention centre where the matter you are complaining about happened (stage one of our complaints procedure), you can contact the relevant Customer Service Unit. They will check whether your complaint has been dealt with properly (stage two of the complaints procedure).

If you are not satisfied with the Customer Service Unit's response, you can ask your Member of Parliament to raise your concern with the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Before you contact your Member of Parliament, the Parliamentary Ombudsman expects you to have completed stages one and two of our complaints process, unless there are exceptional reasons for not having done so.

The Agency is also overseen by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO). If you are detained in an immigration removal centre and you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your complaint, you can report your complaint to the PPO. Before contacting the PPO, you must first have taken your complaint through our own complaints process.

If you have made a complaint about serious professional misconduct, the investigators will tell you the outcome. Their letter will tell you who to contact if you are still dissatisfied.

What happens after your complaint has been dealt with

We want to learn from complaints and to improve the service we provide to our customers wherever possible. We may, for example, consider making adjustments to the process that led to your complaint. We may also consider giving our staff extra training or, in serious cases, taking disciplinary action.

If you can show that you have suffered financial loss as a direct result of an error we have made, you may be able to claim reimbursement of the costs you have incurred. We will only consider reimbursing you for these costs if they were reasonable, unavoidable and a direct consequence of our actions - and you will need to provide evidence such as original receipts.

In exceptional circumstances not involving financial loss, we will consider whether a consolatory payment may be appropriate.