Commentary Part 6 – Investigation of Complaints Against Regulators Section 87: Investigation of complaints
544.Section 87 deals with the operation of the complaints scheme. The regulator may decide not to investigate a complaint in accordance with the scheme where it considers that the complaint would be dealt with more appropriately in another way, for example by reference to the Tribunal. A regulator may make an initial investigation of a complaint, but it must then refer any complaint it is investigating to the investigator. The regulator must also notify the investigator of complaints it has decided not to investigate; the investigator may choose to investigate such a complaint. The investigator must report to the regulator and the complainant on the investigation, and the investigator can recommend that the regulator makes a compensatory payment to the complainant or remedies the matter, or both. The investigator can publish all or part of the report if the investigator thinks that it ought to be brought to the attention of the public and, if a report is critical of the regulator, the regulator must inform the investigator and the complainant of the steps it proposes to take in response and the investigator may require the regulator to publish all or part of that response. Subsection (8) permits the investigator to appoint a person to investigate on its behalf but, to ensure the independence of investigations, subsection (9) prevents the investigator from appointing officers and employees of the regulator against which the complaint was made.