Dear Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman,

The Pensions Ombudsman Service has recently confirmed that it will not accept complaints that are referred to it by other Ombudsman services, instead requiring complainants to complete its own complaints form on the basis that the referred complaint is "not valid". It has failed to explain what it means by "not valid", but this refusal is apparently based on its belief that it will otherwise be in breach of data protection legislation.

Clearly, this policy leads directly to additional unnecessary form-filling on the part of the complainant and displays an unacceptable and unhelpful attitude towards the general public as the primary users of its services.

My query to you is "Do you accept complaints referred to you by other Ombudsman services or do you, like the Pensions Ombudsman Service, refuse such referrals and require complainants to complete your own complaints forms even when the referred complaint contains all necessary information for the complaint to be investigated?"