Who has the power to help

When an institution gets your rights wrong, the question that matters is not "who is sympathetic?" but "who has the power to fix this?" This page is organised the way people actually search: by problem. Under each problem is the route — the body with real teeth — and the directory of organisations follows below. Two rules of thumb apply to everything: complain to the institution itself first (its own complaints process creates the paper trail), and if the wrongdoer is a public body and you hold Withdrawal Agreement rights, tell the IMA as well — individual complaints are the fuel for its inquiries and court cases.

"We treat British people the same way" — why that answer doesn't end the conversation

You may be told that whatever happened to you happens to everyone, so it cannot be a rights problem. Often that misses the point. Most of the routes on this page enforce absolute legal standards, not comparisons: statutory deadlines, professional standards, consumer-protection rules and complaint time limits apply to your case whoever you are. A body that misses them has broken the rules — even if it misses them for everyone.

Some of your rights also have a stronger source. If you hold Withdrawal Agreement rights — broadly, EU Settlement Scheme status — those rights come from an international treaty, not only from UK policy. UK courts must give them effect, even over conflicting UK rules, and a dedicated public watchdog, the Independent Monitoring Authority, exists specifically to oversee how public bodies treat you.

Where the law does work by comparison — the equal-treatment rights in the Withdrawal Agreement and the Equality Act 2010 — evidence decides it. Keep records of how you were treated and, where you can, of how others in your situation were treated. Written records are what win these cases. If you were treated worse because of who you are, see when you are discriminated against or abused.

"My status is the problem" — EUSS delays, wrong decisions, eVisa failures

• Application stuck, status not showing, share code failing, automatic upgrade questions → the EUSS Resolution Centre (Home Office), 0300 123 7379.
• Refused, or a late application → get regulated advice fast: Settled (free, many languages) or an IAA-regulated adviser.
• Status wrongly removed or curtailed → you should get 28 days to respond; use them with an adviser, and tell the IMA.

"Refused a job — or mistreated at work — because of my status"

• Employer refuses a valid share code or demands a non-existent "physical permit" → point them to the Home Office right-to-work guidance; nationality-based refusals can be unlawful discrimination.
• Any workplace dispute → Acas first (0300 123 1100): free conciliation, and a required step before most employment tribunal claims. Strict deadlines apply — usually 3 months less a day.
• Discrimination advice → Equality Advisory and Support Service, 0808 800 0082.

"Refused a tenancy"

• Letting agent at fault → complain to the agent, then to their redress scheme (Property Ombudsman or PRS) — free, binding on the agent.
• Blanket "no digital status" or nationality-based refusals → can be unlawful discrimination; law centres and Shelter (0808 800 4444) advise free.

"Benefit denied"

• Step one, always: request a mandatory reconsideration (in writing, within one month), then appeal to the independent tribunal. Most EU-citizen refusals turn on the right-to-reside rules — and advisers win these regularly. See the AT case on Money & benefits: even the Supreme Court has now confirmed destitute pre-settled status holders cannot simply be refused.
• Free help with the paperwork → Citizens Advice, your law centre, or the Work Rights Centre.
• A public body ignoring Withdrawal Agreement rights → also tell the IMA.

"Wrongly charged by the NHS"

• Do not just pay. Ask the trust's Overseas Visitor Team, in writing, to reassess — people with settled or pre-settled status living in the UK are ordinarily resident and entitled to free hospital care.
• Escalate via the hospital's complaints process (ask PALS for help), then the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
• Withdrawal Agreement rights engaged → tell the IMA; wrongful NHS charging of EUSS holders is squarely its territory.

"My medical or dental treatment went wrong"

• Complain to the practice or trust first, in writing — every NHS service must have a complaints procedure, and PALS helps you use it. Time limit: normally 12 months from the event, or from when you realised something was wrong.
• Not resolved → the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
• Concerns about an individual professional's fitness to practise → the General Dental Council for dentists, the General Medical Council for doctors.
• Private dental treatment → the Dental Complaints Service, free.
• Possible negligence and harm → AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents), the specialist charity with a free helpline; court claims normally have a 3-year limit (running from age 18 for children), so seek advice early.
• Complaining is free and does not affect your care. If a public body ignored your Withdrawal Agreement equal-treatment rights, tell the IMA too.

"My child's school or council is denying the help they need"

• Concerns about progress or unmet needs → raise them with the class teacher, then the SENCO, in writing.
• You, the parent, can ask the local authority directly for an EHC needs assessment — the school's agreement is not required. The council has 6 weeks to decide whether to assess and, if a plan is issued, 20 weeks in total to finalise it. See GOV.UK on children with special educational needs.
• Refused, or you disagree with the plan → appeal to the SEND Tribunal. Most parents represent themselves; free specialist help comes from IPSEA, SOS!SEN and Contact.
• Council misses deadlines or fails to deliver the provision named in a plan → the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.
• Ordinary school complaints (bullying, unfair treatment): class teacher → headteacher → the governors' complaints procedure → the local authority or the Department for Education.
• If a public body ignored your Withdrawal Agreement rights, tell the IMA too.

"A company is mistreating me" — energy, phone, bank, shop

• The rule for all of them: complain in writing to the company first and keep copies — the ombudsman schemes require it.
• Energy supplier → after 8 weeks, or once you get a deadlock letter, the Energy Ombudsman — free, and binding on the supplier. Ask about the Priority Services Register if your household includes children, illness or disability; and note that suppliers cannot back-bill for energy used more than 12 months ago.
• Phone or broadband → once 6 weeks have passed (Ofcom reduced this from 8 in April 2026) or you have a deadlock letter, your provider's dispute scheme — the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS; check which one on Ofcom's page on making a complaint.
• Bank or other financial firm → the Financial Ombudsman Service, free.
• Anything bought, from any trader → the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, 0808 223 1133, which also alerts Trading Standards.
• Water company → the Consumer Council for Water.

"I was discriminated against or abused because of my nationality"

• There are two overlapping routes — use both. First, if there were threats, abuse or violence, it may be a hate crime: report it on 101, or through True Vision. Even non-crime hate incidents are worth reporting, because the recording matters.
• Second, worse treatment by a shop, company, landlord, school or service because of your nationality or race can be unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Advisory and Support Service, 0808 800 0082, advises free, and claims can go to court — a strict 6-month time limit applies to services claims.
• Complain to the organisation itself as well — the bus company, the supermarket — because its staff's conduct is its responsibility.
• For how to report and what to expect, see Police, safety & law.

"Can't get my data"

• Make (or chase) your Subject Access Request — free, one-month deadline.
• Ignored or refused without reason → the organisation's complaints process, then the ICO (0303 123 1113), which can order compliance and fine.

"Removed from the electoral register"

• Contact your council's electoral services team — registration is their legal duty, and the retained-rights rules (explained here) are frequently misapplied.
• Unresolved → the Electoral Commission publishes the definitive guidance to point to.

"A council or government department got it wrong" (and it isn't benefits)

• Complain to the body itself, then to the relevant ombudsman: Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (councils, England) or the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (government departments — approach via your MP).
• Your MP can intervene directly with the Home Office and DWP, and often does: find your MP.
• And if Withdrawal Agreement rights are involved: the IMA.

The directory: who does what

Everything below is free unless marked otherwise. Giving immigration advice in the UK is a regulated activity — only advisers regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or lawyers, may advise on your individual case.