Independent Assessor - Terms of Reference

These are the Terms of Reference approved by the Board, in line with the Articles of Association of the Company (herein “the Communications Ombudsman”).

1. Any person directly affected by the functions of The Communications Ombudsman may raise with the Independent Assessor any complaint about the standard of service provided by The Communications Ombudsman (a service complaint), provided:
   1. the complainant has followed The Communications Ombudsman’s own internal complaints process entitled “Unhappy with our Service” (which is available at our website https://www.commsombudsman.org/contact-us or call us for a printed copy or email enquiry@commsombudsman.org) and it has had a reasonable opportunity of responding to the service complaint; and
   2. the person making the service complaint remains dissatisfied and complains to the Independent Assessor within three months of The Communications Ombudsman confirming that it has completed its own internal procedures in relation to the service complaint.
2. If the Independent Assessor receives a service complaint that also relates to other matters, the Independent Assessor shall only investigate the service complaint. Service complaints exclude, amongst other things:
   1. the merits of any decision concerning any complaint against a service provider under the law and/or rules relating to The Communications Ombudsman, including jurisdiction; consideration or weighting of evidence, dismissing, rejecting, or upholding such a complaint; and any redress; and
   2. employment issues relating to the staff of The Communications Ombudsman and issues concerning commercial transactions between The Communications Ombudsman and third parties.
3. The Independent Assessor may, at their discretion, decide to wait until a complaint has concluded before conducting their review. In exceptional cases, they may require The Communications Ombudsman to suspend an investigation of the complaint against the service provider while the service complaint is considered.
4. The Independent Assessor has autonomy not to accept a service complaint or to terminate the investigation of a service complaint if the behaviour of the person making the service complaint becomes unreasonable.
5. The Independent Assessor shall have access to all files held by The Communications Ombudsman relating to the service complaint and may seek any further information that he or she considers necessary from the person making the service complaint or from The Communications Ombudsman.
6. If the Independent Assessor considers that a service complaint should be upheld in whole or in part, they may recommend that an apology or appropriate recommendation is made, in line with The Communications Ombudsman’s internal service complaints procedure.
7. If The Communications Ombudsman does not accept that recommendation, the Independent Assessor shall refer the matter to the Board– which shall normally decide on its response at its next meeting, following receipt of the recommendation, for which it is possible to include the relevant papers in the agenda.
8. If the Board declines to comply with a recommendation referred to it by the Independent Assessor, it shall inform the Independent Assessor and the person making the service complaint of its reasons for doing so, and shall publish them in the annual report.
9. The Independent Assessor shall communicate the findings in writing to the person or firm who made the service complaint and to The communications Ombudsman. There is no further appeal against the Independent Assessor’s decision.
10. Each year the Independent Assessor shall compile, for inclusion in the annual report, a summary of the number and nature of the complaints they received, and of any recommendations made or referred to its Board.