How to give us feedback or make a complaint

What to do if you're not happy with our service and how we will handle your complaint.

The complaints process

If you're unhappy with the service you have had from for us, please get in touch so we can work together to find a resolution. You can find out how to contact us below, along with details of what will happen next.  

Give us feedback

You don’t have to make a complaint to be heard. We want to ensure every member gets the support they need. Before making a complaint, you might want to consider contacting us to let us know you didn’t get the support you needed, and we will do our best to put that right.   

How to get in touch

You can raise your concerns or complaint to us by: 

  • Emailing: csu@railpen.com
  • Writing to: Railpen Ltd, PO Box 300, Darlington, DL3 6YJ

To make sure we can help you as quickly as possible you need to tell us: 

  • Your full name and Pension Reference Number
  • Your contact details (including your daytime phone number)
  • What happened and why you're unhappy
  • What you think we should do to put things right
How we will help you 

We will deal with the concerns you raise carefully and thoughtfully. 

We will let you know when we have received your complaint, and passed it on to one of our experts to look into to. We will also tell you who will be dealing with it moving forward. 
 
We then aim to send you a full reply as quickly as we can, but sometimes it may take a little while if the issue is complicated and needs a detailed investigation or further information, but we will let you know when you can expect a reply.

Our reply will answer your concerns directly, and tell you what we can do to help you. We will always aim to tell you what caused the problem and the steps we are taking to make sure it doesn't happen again. 

What to do if you’re unhappy with our response

We aim to make sure you get the support you need. But if you’re unhappy with our reply, you can ask for your complaint to be considered under the Scheme's Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure (IDRP). This has 2 stages:

  1. For Stage 1, we will let you know that we have received your complaint and send a full reply within 2 months
  2. If you’re still not satisfied with the response, you can ask for your complaint to go to Stage 2 of the IDRP. In this case, your complaint will be looked at by the Trustee or its representatives. This will be done at the next available Committee meeting, and a response will be sent to you within 10 working days after that meeting
What happens if we can’t find a solution together

If you’ve been through the full Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure (IDRP) and are still not satisfied, then you can ask the Pensions Ombudsman to investigate your complaint.

The Ombudsman is an independent organisation, which has been set up by law to investigate complaints or disputes about pension schemes.

You can register a complaint online at pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint

The Pensions Ombudsman also provides an early resolution service if you need help raising your concerns or to discuss a potential complaint. In some cases, this can be before the IDRP has been used.

You can contact the Pension Ombudsman for more information:

If you’re asked for the Scheme registration number, it’s 10203279.

What to read next...

About the Scheme

Learn more about the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) and the Trustee. 

Frequently asked questions 

Got a question about your pension? You might find it's already answered in these FAQs.

Read as You Need guides

In-depth guides covering a variety of pension topics. You can read them online or download.