Waterways Ombudsman
This page contains information about the Waterways Ombudsman, including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes
What it does
The Waterways Ombudsman deals with complaints and disputes involving British Waterways. You can complain if you are a customer, a visitor, a neighbours of British Waterways land, or a business using the waterways. The ombudsman also deals with complaints about BWML, which runs marinas for British Waterways.
British Waterways manages around 3,500 km of rivers and canals in England, Scotland and Wales.
This information applies in England, Scotland and Wales.
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Advantages
- it is free
- it is confidential for the complainant – cases are summarised anonymously in the annual report
- although the scheme is funded by British Waterways, it meets the BIOA standards for independence
- the ombudsman will thoroughly investigate the complaint, including site visits and inspections where necessary
- the ombudsman can recommend an apology, a change in practice, and compensation
Disadvantages
- you need to go through two stages of the internal complaints procedure before using the ombudsman scheme
- the ombudsman will not consider a complaint where you simply disagree with British Waterways decisions or policies - but you can complain about unfairness
- financial compensation so far has usually been quite low
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Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
The Waterways Ombudsman will investigate complaints of injustice caused by unfair treatment or maladministration by British Waterways. (See What is maladministration? for more information). This includes:
- Unreasonable delays
- Doing something the wrong way
- Doing things which should not have been done
- Failing to do something which should have been done
The ombudsman will consider a complaint from anyone who uses rivers, canals, reservoirs, towpaths, land or buildings run by British Waterways, or about any British Waterways activities. This can be an individual, or a small business or charity with an annual turnover of less than £1m.
The ombudsman won’t investigate complaints which have been, or are being considered by a court or tribunal. She is also unable to investigate matters concerning employment.
You must take your complaint to British Waterways within 12 months of becoming aware of the problem. If you are not happy with the final response from British Waterways, you can go to the ombudsman within 6 months. If you don’t get a reply from British Waterways in a reasonable time, you can still go to the ombudsman.
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Cost
The Waterways Ombudsman is free to those making a complaint.
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Timescale
The time taken to investigate a complaint will depend on the circumstances of the case. During 2009-10:
- 59% were completed in less than 3 months
- a further 18% were completed within 6 months
- the remaining 23% were completed in less than a year
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Procedure
You can complain by post or by email. If you want advice before making your complaint, you can phone or email the ombudsman – contact details are on the website, and there is a link at the bottom of this page. In your complaint you need to say:
- what you think has been done wrongly
- what you think should be done to put things right
You should send copies of any relevant documents and letters, especially the final letter from the Director of British Waterways.
The ombudsman will decide whether or not she can take on your complaint, and will let you know. She will always give reasons for her decision. She will also decide how best to resolve things. If she can, she will try to resolve disputes at an early stage by talking to both sides.
If she needs more information, she may:
- Ask British Waterways for comments or documents
- Visit a site
- Interview you or anyone else involved in the complaint
At the end of the investigation you will get a draft decision with a copy of all the evidence, and the remedy which the ombudsman proposes if she upholds your complaint. Both you and British Waterways have a chance to comment at this stage before the final decision is made.
There is no appeal against the ombudsman’s final decision, but you can still take your case to court if you are not happy.
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Outcomes
During 2009-10 the Waterways Ombudsman received 81 enquiries, resulting in 23 complaints within the ombudsman's jurisdiction. Of these, 22 investigations were completed in the year:
- 8 were upheld fully or partly
- 6 were not upheld
- 5 were resolved through informal action
- 2 were discontinued or resulted in no finding
- 1 was withdrawn
Anonymous summaries of every case can be read in the ombudsman’s annual report, which is published on her website. There is a link at the bottom of this page.
Remedies usually involve a requirement for British Waterways to take action of some kind, and to apologise where they have made a mistake. Although the ombudsman can recommend compensation of up to £100,000, in the cases summarised in the 2009-10 annual report compensation was rarely awarded.
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September 2010
