Council tax and housing benefits - You do not think your housing benefit or council tax benefit has been calculated correctly.

Ask the council to send you a statement of reasons. This will explain the reasoning behind their decisions on your housing benefit (HB) or council tax benefit (CTB).

If you are not happy with the way your HB and/or CTB has been worked out ask your council to look at your claim again. You must write to the council within six weeks of receiving their decision about your benefit, explaining why you disagree with its decision on your entitlement

If you still do not agree with your council's assessment of your HB/CTB write to the council to request a hearing by a review board. The review board must arrange a hearing within six weeks of your request.

You can appeal against a review board's decision on a point of law only (if you think the board has misapplied the law relating to HB/CTB). If you are considering doing this you should get legal advice (contact citizens advice bureau).

If you think you have suffered an injustice as a result of bad, inefficient or improper administration by the local authority you may be able to complain to the local government ombudsman.

Social Security benefits - You disagree with the benefits agency's decision about your social security benefits.

Ask the customer service manager at your local social security office to explain their decision.

You can ask for your claim to be looked at again by an adjudication officer. Contact the office within a month of receiving the decision.

Appeal to an independent tribunal (organised under the appeals service) within one month of date of notification of the decision. (The letter telling you about the benefits agency's decision will also tell you if you can appeal.)

If you disagree with the tribunal's decision you can ask for:
• A correction - if you think that there is an accidental mistake in the way the decision has been written (for instance, a mistake in a date or an amount).
• The decision to be set aside - if you think that the tribunal reached the wrong decision because they did not have an important piece of evidence, or because you or your representative were not at the hearing.

You can appeal on point of law only to a social security commissioner.

You may be able to seek judicial review. Contact the local citizens advice bureau or law centre for further advice.

Tax  - You are unhappy with the service you have received from the inland revenue/tax office

Contact the tax/inland revenue office you have been dealing with. You will be given a contact name or number in any correspondence from the inland revenue. If you do not know which office deals with your tax you should call 0207 667 4001.

If the tax office cannot settle your complaint contact the director who has overall responsibility for that office or unit. The director will let you know the outcome within 15 working days.

If you are still dissatisfied contact the adjudicator's office – (You should contact them within six months after the inland revenue director has provided you with an answer you are unhappy with.)

You can only appeal the adjudicator's recommendation if you send her fresh evidence which she has not already considered and which is fundamental to her decision.

You can ask Anne to refer your complaint to the independent parliamentary ombudsman if there has been maladministration.

Pensions - Your pension has been badly administered or incorrect, or you have been given poor pension advice.

The trustees of most pension schemes are legally required to have a formal complaints procedure - this is known as the internal disputes resolution procedure.

State pensions contact your local social security office.

To get information about how much basic state retirement pension you have earned contact the Retirement Pension Forecasting and Advice Unit (RPFA)

Non-state pensions (personal/private pensions) - If you have a problem with your pension contact the personnel manager or pensions manager of the pension scheme. Their contact details will be on the correspondence they have sent you.

If they do not resolve the matter to your satisfaction you have a right to appeal to the trustees of the pension scheme. Contact your pension scheme for further details.

At both the first and second stages a written decision must be given to the complainant within two months. The trustees' written decision must contain a statement about the existence of the pensions advisory service and the pensions ombudsman.

If you are not happy with the trustees' decision, or if their disputes resolution procedure is not operated properly contact the Pensions Advisory Service (OPAS) - OPAS will either provide an independent explanation of the position or assist your claim if they feel the pension scheme's decision is flawed.

If OPAS can't help you, the other main complaints authority for personal pension sales is the Personal Investment Authority Ombudsman Bureau (PIAOB) - You usually have to appeal to ombudsman within three years from the date when you first became aware of the act, or failure to act, that you are complaining about.