Compliments and complaints

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The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading is a Statutory Board that provides appropriate legislation, advice, and compliance services to benefit and protect the Island’s consumers and businesses from unfair trading practices. 

We are committed to providing a wide range of services to meet our statutory obligations.

The standards contained in this leaflet apply to all of our services, including how we deal with: 

  • Enforcing legislation.
  • Advising on civil legislations.
  • Administering our advisory and mediation services. 

We aim to: 

  • Achieve the highest standards of credibility, character and capability;
  • respect our clients’ confidentiality;
  • act impartially, fairly, objectively and consistently in all our work;
  • be open with our clients;
  • be courteous and helpful at all times;
  • act promptly;
  • provide value for money;
  • be accountable for what we do. 

Your responsibilities: 

  • Give complete and accurate information when you contact us.
  • Respond as soon as possible if we ask you for more information.
  • Keep appointments and arriving on time.
  • To be considerate to our staff and other customers in our waiting area. 

Feedback and comments

Your comments are welcome as they will help us to improve the service we offer. If you have any comments about the services we provide or those you feel we should provide, please write to the address at the end of this document. 

If you believe that we have not met our aims or you are unhappy about any other aspect of our service you may wish to use our complaints procedure. 

Please note that we cannot consider a complaint if:

  • you are the subject of a prosecution by the OFT. In that case the courts will make the decision on whether we have acted correctly or not;
  • you are unhappy with an agreed policy that the OFT operates. However, the OFT will consider any views you may have on its policies and their effectiveness;
  • your complaint relates to dissatisfaction with a process decision, if the review process for that decision has not been fully exhausted.
  • your complaint relates to a decision under statute which is open to challenge through the Courts or an appeal mechanism   

OFT Complaints Procedure 

Stage 1: Frontline

Contact the officer who is dealing with you, giving a clear explanation of your concerns and ask them to further explain the situation. 

Stage 2: Investigation

If you wish to take your concerns further, you may make a more formal complaint.  You should write or email, providing the following information: 

  • The date of any incident/occurrence relating to your complaint.
  • Who or what is the subject of your complaint (officer, process, timescale, etc.).
  • Full details of the nature of your complaint or issue.
  • Identify all relevant documents, correspondence and any witnesses to your concerns.
  • How the actions you complain about have affected you.
  • Any positive solutions you believe can resolve your complaint.
  • Any additional comments you believe would be useful in considering your complaint. 

Our procedure is then as follows: 

  • On receipt of your written complaint, your complaint will be acknowledged.
  • The Director OFT will appoint an Investigating Officer who will have had no connection with the matter.
  • The Investigating Officer will carry out the investigation in a full and unbiased manner and will interview any person they see as necessary. 
  • The Investigating Officer will prepare a report for the Director which may include suggested recommendations for action.
  • The Director will review the contents of the report and will notify you of the outcome of the investigation. (Note: If the outcome of the investigation involves matters of discipline and/or capability these remain confidential)
  • The Director will ensure that the recommendations he has accepted are implemented. 

Stage 3 - Appeal

If the outcome of an investigation has not adequately addressed the issues raised a stage 3 appeal may be made in writing which will be referred to the Chief Officer. This should be within 10 days of the date of the outcome letter of Stage 2 and should clearly explain why the outcome of Stage 2 is incorrect. The Chief Officer will review the investigation report and may seek additional information or review.

If the complaint is about the personal actions of the Chief Officer or Director OFT, the Complaints Officer will invoke a separate procedure. 

All Stage 2 and Stage 3 complaints should be made in writing (letter or email) and addressed to: 

The Complaints Officer

Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading
Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road
St John's, IM4 3AS
Telephone:+44 1624 686500
email: iomfairtrading@gov.im 

Tynwald Commissioner for Administration

If the procedure detailed above is completed, complaints from members of the public who claim to have sustained injustice or hardship as a result of service failures or administrative actions of the OFT may, within 6 months of the final decision having been notified to them, have further recourse to the Commissioner.

Contact ombudsman@parliament.org.im

Note - Please note however, if the complaint relates to the actions of OFT in respect of the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (FSOS), the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration has no jurisdiction to investigate it.

Equality

If you are unhappy about an issue relating to equality, you should follow the steps above you but should also refer to the information on our Equality Act web pages. 

If you are unable to submit a complaint in writing, please contact us to discuss your needs.