Check if you can complain

We know that problems involving personal information can be upsetting or stressful. 

In most cases, we recommend that you raise your concern with the organisation first and give them a chance to put things right. Many data protection concerns can be resolved quickly and easily by doing this. 

If you’re unhappy with the organisation’s response, you can then complain to the ICO. 

This short set of questions will help you work out what to do next. 

Based on your answers, we’ll explain: 

• if you can complain to the ICO; 
• if there are steps you should take first; or 
• when we can’t look into an issue, and why. 

If you need help, you can contact us. Our number is 0303 123 1113, or you can start a live chat with one of our colleagues. 

If you make a complaint, we’ll let you know the outcome once we’ve considered it. We examine each complaint carefully and apply the criteria in our data protection complaints framework to help us decide if we need to investigate a complaint further, before providing an outcome.