I have a problem with an official authority
We can help you if the conduct of a public authority is in violation of the law, if authorities are inactive, unhelpful, slow and ineffective, or if they discriminate against you.
We can help
- If you disagree with an authority’s decision or its conduct;
- If an authority is inactive, has not issued a decision within the set deadline, has not commenced proceedings and in similar cases;
- If you are convinced that you should have participated in a procedure but were not invited to;
- If you believe that an authority or an officer treat you in an arrogant or inappropriate manner.
I care for my elderly mother who is seriously ill and requires full-time assistance during the day. The authority granted her the lowest allowance for care and we simply could not afford to hire any help for that little money. So I approached the Ombudsman who later found out that the authority had not proceeded correctly and ensured that the allowance was increased and that they paid my mother the owed amount.
After a reconstruction of a pavement in our town, water started leaking into our garage. Our dealings with the town hall got us nowhere so I approached the Ombudsman who helped us resolve the situation quickly. Eventually, the municipality built gutters that take the water away from our property.
Thanks to the Ombudsman, I finally get the correct amount of disability pension. Before his intervention, I was getting significantly less money, just because the authorities did not take into consideration my serious long-term illness.
When I was deeply in debt and with bailiffs knocking on my door, I turned to the Ombudsman for help. Although it was not in his competence to inquire into my problems, he still gave me valuable advice on how to proceed and who to talk to.
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The ombudsman cannot act on your behalf — you must first try to resolve the issue yourself.
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First, you must contact the authority yourself and wait for a decision.
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If you disagree with the decision, appeal it. This is usually possible. Keep an eye on the deadlines — later on, it may not be possible to remedy the situation.
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If the authority is inactive, complain to its superior authority to ensure that the situation is remedied.
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If your efforts to resolve the problem are unsuccessful, it is time to contact the ombudsman.
We cannot help
- Matters related to the decision-making of municipal governments (e.g., allocation of municipal housing, disposal of municipal property, approval of spatial plans, etc.).
- Matters related to the decision-making of courts.
- Enforcement of court decisions (debt collection etc.)
- Civil-law disputes (e.g., disagreements among neighbours, loans, purchase contracts, debt repayment, etc.).
- Labour-law matters (e.g., conclusion and termination of employment, etc.).
- Criminal-law matters (e.g., in case you disagree with an imposed punishment, criminal prosecution (not) being initiated, course of investigation, etc.).
- If you have any reservations about a law or the conduct of Deputies, the Government or the President.