What you can complain about

You can complain to Social Security Scotland about things like:

• delays with your application or payments
• information they have given you 
• how they have treated you  
• a decision they have made (if you cannot ask Social Security Scotland to look at it another way)

Your complaint could be about Social Security Scotland’s services or staff.

You can complain to Social Security Scotland even if the problem has been fixed. Social Security Scotland will learn from your complaint to ensure the problem does not happen again.

For more information, see examples of complaints Social Security Scotland has handled.

What you cannot complain about

There are some things Social Security Scotland cannot deal with through their complaints handling process. These include:

• issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal, such as an appeal about your benefits 
• disagreement with a decision where they are able to consider the decision again. Social Security Scotland will let you know if you have the right to ask for a re-determination or appeal of a decision made
• requests for information under the Data Protection or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts
• a complaint that Social Security Scotland has already investigated, and where they sent you a letter with a full explanation of their final decision

If Social Security Scotland cannot deal with your complaint, they'll explain why and tell you who to contact instead.