How to complain

We can sort out most complaints if you simply tell us about the problem.
If you are unhappy with our service:

• contact the office dealing with your claim
• tell us what you are not happy about.

We will deal with your complaint in the best way for you. For example, if you want us to phone you instead of writing to you, let us know.

We will look into what you say and contact you about it. We aim to answer in one and a half weeks.

Find out more

To find out more:

• If you are unhappy with the service we have provided, go to our complaints page on Directgov
• Visit our local events pages to look at our performance on complaints and compliments
• Visit the DWP complaints and appeals page

Improvements through customer feedback

We take your complaints very seriously and aim to improve our services as a result. Here are some examples of what we have done to make things better for our customers.

I’m not always happy with the way you handle my complaint

We are always trying to improve the way we deal with your complaints. We have set up a new Centre of Excellence to promote better complaint handling and improve our services. Here are some of the things that we are doing:

• Carrying out staff awareness sessions to make sure we learn from the complaints we receive to make things better for you.
• Discussing complaints and deciding on appropriate action where there are any examples of where we have not provided the service you should expect.
• Training staff to make sure the letters we send to you are well written and answer your complaint fully.
• Resolving more complaints when they first come in so we don’t have to refer your complaint on to someone else.
• Consulting with customer service groups.

I had to contact many different offices of the Department for Work and Pensions to let you know that I had changed my address

You now only need to contact us once to report a change in address.

The letter you sent telling me that I have underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance was confusing

We asked for your views and changed the wording on the letter to make it easier to understand. Underlying entitlement means that, even though we cannot pay you Carer’s Allowance, you still satisfy the entitlement conditions. This means that if you have a low income, it may help you get extra money.

You didn’t let me know that Carer’s Allowance could affect the deferral of my State Pension

We listened to your views and changed our computer systems. This means that we now send you a letter explaining how Carer’s Allowance can affect the deferral of State Pension.

When I phoned the contact centre I found the music played, whilst on hold, inappropriate

We changed the music to something more suitable!

I was upset when you wrote to tell me that an overpayment had been made straight after my husband had died

We have changed our procedures so that we do not contact the next of kin for three weeks following the death of a relative.

You did not keep my representative up to date about the decision on my claim for Disability Living Allowance

When we let you know about the decision on your claim decision makers are now prompted to send a copy to your representative too.

When you wrote back to me about my complaint the letter was poorly worded

We check letters before we send them to you to make sure they are well written and that all your points are covered.

You don’t always talk to other DWP agencies involved in my complaint

We have improved our guidance to make it clear who should take the lead when more than one agency is involved in dealing with a complaint.

You don’t really understand what it is like to be a customer contacting your service

We carry out ‘mystery shopping’ which gives us an objective view of how our staff deal with customers. It looks at things like:

• How easy it is to contact us.
• How quickly we answer customer calls.
• How we deal with customers.
• Whether we have to pass the customer on to anyone else.
• The accuracy of information. 

We meet regularly with front line staff to discuss performance. We also work with centres where performance falls below the national average.

I didn’t know that I had to fill in a form that was sent to me following the death of my mother

The form used to obtain information about next of kin has been changed to make it clearer what details are needed.

I told you about going to live abroad but you did not update your systems properly resulting in overpayments being made

We sent a note to staff reminding them of the procedures to follow if someone moves abroad.

I’m not always told about how my claim is progressing

We sent instructions to staff detailing what they need to do at each stage of the claim process. This includes the need to keep customers up to date.

I’m not always happy with how and who you contact regarding my care needs

We developed a ‘telephone techniques’ course to improve the way our staff asked sensitive questions.