Sharing information with the complainant and others

When sharing the outcome of an investigation into a complaint with the complainant or their representative, complaint handlers may be limited in what information they can share. Where the complaint relates to the actions of the organisation whilst dealing with a third party, the complainant has no legal right to information about that third party.

In these cases, complaint handlers should produce two versions of a complaint response. One for the complainant, sharing relevant information, and a second for the organisation setting out their full findings and reasons. This helps the organisation to learn from the complaint and ensures the complainant receives as full a response as possible.

Sending a redacted version of a complaint response, rather than the approach suggested above, is not ideal as it can be difficult for complainants to understand and lead to further questions the organisation cannot answer.

Organisations should be open to sharing relevant evidence relied on when reaching decisions about complaints when a complainant requests this and it is appropriate to do so. This supports transparency and allows complainants to be reassured about how evidence has been considered.