In many cases, we try to help the citizen to proceed with the case even if we do not initiate an investigation of the case.
If the complaint contains aspects on which the authority has not taken a position yet, we can
- ask the citizen to write to the authority/a higher authority
- pass on the complaint to the relevant authority – for example if the authority in the first instance ought to go more thoroughly into the grounds for the decision reached, or if the higher authority has not taken a position on the complaint yet.
In some cases, complaints about authorities’ case processing times are passed on to the authority as a reminder from the citizen.
If we ask the citizen to write to the authority first, or if the complaint is submitted to the authority, we close the case.
In some cases, we ask the authority to notify us about the reply to the citizen.
If the citizen wants to uphold his or her complaint about the authority’s (original) decision or case processing after having received a new reply from the authority, a new complaint must be sent to the Ombudsman.