Complaints procedure
How to make a complaint about the Environment Agency’s service, or appeal against a regulatory decision.
Standards of service
The Environment Agency has published their customer service commitment. This shows what you can expect from them.
Complaints about service
If you’re unhappy with the service the Environment Agency has provided, please contact them by email, post or telephone.
General enquiries
National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY
Email [email protected]
Telephone 03708 506 506
Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Escalate a complaint
If you’re not happy with the Environment Agency’s response to your complaint, let them know. They will escalate it to a manager who will review your complaint and write to you again. If you’re not satisfied with the manager’s response, you can contact the relevant ombudsman.
Contact the ombudsman
The ombudsman is independent of the Environment Agency. They will only consider complaints after the Environment Agency has had the chance to resolve them.
For complaints about flood defence and land drainage issues, contact the Local Government Ombudsman.
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
For complaints about all other aspects of work, you can complain through your local MP to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Contact the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP)
The OEP is independent of the Environment Agency. It can look at complaints relating to a government body’s failure to implement or comply with environmental law.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 03300 416 581
Appeal a regulatory decision
If you disagree with a regulatory decision the Environment Agency has made, you can appeal and ask them to review it. You can also report when they have not followed the Regulators’ Code.
Victims’ Right to Review
In cases where the Environment Agency is the regulator, and they have decided not to prosecute an offender for a criminal offence, an identified victim can sometimes ask them to review that decision. This is only in certain circumstances. To find out what these circumstances are, you can email [email protected].
Normally they know the identity of victims and will ask them if they want a decision not to prosecute to be reviewed. A victim must tell them within 5 working days if they do want that decision reviewed.
Complaints about mismanagement, charges or licensing
You can contact the Information Commissioner if you’re unhappy with the way the Environment Agency has:
- managed your request for information
- charged for or licensed your re-use of information
Telephone: 0303 123 1113