Comments & Complaints

There are several ways to make a complaint or comment:

• Online:  Fill in our Complaints Form below
• By email: feedback@eani.org.uk
• By phone: Call our Complaints office on 028 8241 1472
• By post: Complaints Office, 1 Hospital Road, Omagh, Co Tyrone, BT79 0AW
   

When complaining, please tell us:

• Your full name and contact details;
• As much as you can about the complaint;
• What has gone wrong; and
• What outcome you are seeking.

Anyone who receives, requests or is directly affected by our services can make a complaint to us. This includes the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service (for example, a relative, friend, advocate or adviser). If you are making a complaint on someone else’s behalf, you will need their written consent.   

Normally, you must make your complaint within six months of:

• The event you want to complain about; or
• Finding out that you have a reason to complain.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit.  If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

We will always tell you who is dealing with your complaint.  Our complaints procedure has two stages.

Stage 1: Frontline response
We will always try to respond to your complaint quickly, within five working days if we can. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at Stage 2.
 

Stage 2: Investigation
We will look at your complaints at this stage if you are dissatisfied with our response at Stage 1. We also look at complaints immediately at this stage, if it is clear that they need investigation.

We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days.

We will confirm the points of complaint to be investigated and what you want to achieve. We will investigate the complaint and give you our decision as soon as possible. This will be after no more than 25 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for needing more time.

After we have given you our final decision, if you are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) to look at it.

The Ombudsman will consider your complaint to determine whether it needs investigation. Although you have the right to approach the Ombudsman at any time, she will not usually take on a case which has not first been through our Complaints Procedure.

Complainants must bring their complaint to the Ombudsman within 6 months of completion of the EA’s internal complaints process; however the Ombudsman may investigate a complaint outside the time limit if there are special circumstances that would make it proper to do so.

NIPSO’s contact details are: