Complaints procedure

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about our service or conduct.

This policy covers complaints about

  • How you have been treated 

  • The behaviour of our staff 

  • Action or lack of action by the SFO 

  • Legal, investigative and operational decisions 

It does not cover

  • Matters which have already been dealt with under this policy 

  • Anonymous complaints or complaints from people who have not been in direct contact with the SFO 

  • Complaints about access to information where procedures are set out in legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act, UK General Data Protection Regulation or Data Protection Act 

  • Matters that are, or have been, subject to legal proceedings before a court or tribunal 

  • There is a separate procedure if you are a victim of crime who wishes to exercise the right to request a review of certain decisions which have the effect of ending an investigation or prosecution or preventing a prosecution from being brought. This procedure is called the Victims’ Right to Review and is explained here. 

Timing of complaints 

Complaints should be made within six months. 

For each stage of the complaint system, we will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and aim to respond fully within 28 days where possible. The acknowledgement will include the target date for our response, information about the likely timescale for responding or confirmation that this information will be provided at a later datelater. If we cannot respond within the original time estimate, we will let you know and provide an indication of when the response can be expected. 

How to complain 

If you want to complain, you are encouraged to contact the team or staff member involved. They will attempt to resolve the matter informally or confirm that the matter will be treated as a formal complaint under stage 1 of the formal complaints procedure. 

Stage 1: Formal complaint 

If you remain dissatisfied after contacting that team or staff member informally or you do not wish to contact them, you may make a formal complaint. This is done by contacting our public enquiries team (details below) and providing the following information: 

  • Your name, address and preferred contact details 

  • What happened, when it happened and details of any SFO staff involved 

  • Relevant letters, emails or other documents 

  • The desired outcome  

We will look into what happened and this will usually include communicating with any staff involved. 

If the complaint is upheld, we will inform you and do our best to resolve the matter. If it is not upheld, we will inform you and explain the reasons why. 

Stage 2: Review 

If you are dissatisfied with the response provided at stage 1, you may ask for your complaint to be reviewed. This must be done within 28 days of our response by contacting our public enquiries team (details below). Please include the reasons for your dissatisfaction. 

If the complaint is upheld on review, we will inform you and do our best to resolve the matter. If the complaint is not upheld on review, we will inform you and explain the reasons why. 

This is the end of the complaints procedure. The only exception is if you are a victim of crime whose complaint relates to a breach of the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, in which case you may ask your MP to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman. 

Public enquiries team contact details 

The public enquiries team can be contacted as follows: 

  • Email: enquiries@sfo.gov.uk 

  • Post:  Public Relations and Information (PR&I), Serious Fraud Office, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS 

The proper handling of complaints is vital to ensuring the SFO consistently delivers a high-quality service in our mission to fight complex financial crime, deliver justice for victims and protect the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business. 

We want to know if our service or conduct falls short of what you expect. We recognise that complaints are a valuable source of feedback and provide an opportunity for us to improve. Our aim is to have a process that is clear, accessible and well-managed so that decisions are taken promptly, things put right where necessary, and lessons learnt for the future.

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