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Quarterly customer service complaint outcomes - January to March 2026

Introduction

SEPA’s Complaints Handling Procedure is in accordance with the requirements of the Model Complaints Handling Procedure published by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) and requires us to publish quarterly a report on complaints outcomes and actions taken to improve services.

This report covers Quarter 4 (the period January 2026 to March 2026 inclusive).

Stage 1 complaints

A total of 11 Stage 1 complaints were handled in the reporting period – three were upheld, one upheld in part, and seven not upheld.

One complaint related to a customer who had not received a previously agreed refund from SEPA after making a payment which was not required. The complaint was upheld as SEPA agreed the refund had taken an unreasonable amount of time, and our correspondence did not provide enough clarity on the reason for the delay. To resolve the matter, SEPA arranged for the refund to be made through a different method.

Another complaint concerned an environmental event involving waste at an authorised site. The complainant had contacted SEPA on a number of occasions. The complaint was upheld and SEPA undertook to address the issues with the operator.

A third complaint came from a customer who had expected SEPA’s fluvial flood maps for his area to be updated by the end of 2025 as stated in SEPA’s response to a previous complaint. The complaint was upheld as there was a miscommunication in the previous Stage 2 response, as it was always intended for SEPA to update the national Surface Water and Small Watercourse flood maps rather than the fluvial maps in 2025. SEPA issued an apology for the miscommunication.

One complaint for the period was upheld in part. This related to a SEPA system. The complainant asked for SEPA to investigate a malfunction in the system. SEPA confirmed that there was an issue with the system and a review of this is being carried out. SEPA has committed to inform the complainant of the outcome of the review.

Stage 2 complaints

Four Stage 2 complaints were handled within the reporting period – one was upheld in part and three not upheld.

The complaint which was upheld in part related to an alleged licence breach. The complainant believed that SEPA was not upholding its responsibilities. One of three points of complaint, regarding communication with the customer, was upheld in part. This was because, while SEPA’s webform confirms that we will only make further contact where necessary, in this instance a direct dialogue had previously been established, and it would have been courteous to respond to the complainant.