Complaints procedure

If you are unhappy with our service or you think we've got something wrong, please let us know.


The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) reviews complaints about certain government organisations that deal with benefits, work and financial support.

How to contact the Independent Case Examiner (ICE)

We only reply to emails that are related to the work we do. The Independent Case Examiner reviews complaints about certain government organisations that deal with benefits, work and financial support.

The Independent Case Examiner

PO Box 209
Bootle
L20 7WA

Email ice@dwp.gov.uk

Telephone 0800 414 8529

Fax 0151 221 6601

Telephone from outside the UK +44 151 221 6500

NGT Text Relay at http://ngts.org – if you cannot hear or speak on the phone 18001 then 0800 414 8529

There will usually be someone to take your call from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service

To use the Independent Case Examiner Video Relay Service, you must:

• watch a video to check you can use the service

• go to the video relay service

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

The video relay service uses a free plugin. You may need to change the security settings on your device to install this.

What happens next

If you telephone us to complain about the service we provide, we will first try to resolve the issue by discussing matters with you.

If you are still not satisfied, we will arrange for you to be provided with a written response from the Operations Manager within 3 weeks.

When we receive an email or letter from you about our service, we will consider if it can be dealt with as part of our normal business. If so, we will not provide you with a written acknowledgement (your email will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt), but will respond to you within 2 weeks.

If a written response is required, we aim to:

  • acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days of receipt
  • send you a full response within 3 weeks (if it’s going to take longer, we’ll let you know within 3 weeks and tell you why)

If you’re not satisfied

If you’re unhappy with the way we’ve handled your complaint about us, you can ask your Member of Parliament to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Service standards

Read about our service standards and performance on the Independent Case Examiner service standards page.

Check if you can use the video relay service

The video relay service uses a free plugin. You may need to change the security settings on your device to install this.

Check you can use the Video Relay Service