Filing a complaint or an appeal
Do you disagree with a decision or are you dissatisfied with the service?
1° You can submit a complaint to our Quality Department via:
- our contact form: indicate that your question concerns a complaint
- letter: Parentia Vlaanderen vzw, Quality Department, Rue Ravenstein 36, 1000 Brussels
We will treat your question with the appropriate attention and keep you informed.
2° You can also contact the Complaints and Mediation Service of the Growth Package Payment Agency. They can help by mediating between the payer and your family. You can contact this service by:
- phone: 02/897.10. 60 (each working day from 8.30 a.m. to 12.00 a.m and 13.00 p.m to 4.30 p.m.)
- e-mail: info@groeipakket.be.
- letter: Growth Package Payment Agency, Complaints and Mediation Service, Rue de Trèves 9, 1000 Brussels
3° You can lodge an appeal with the Disputes Committee against a decision of your payer concerning the payment of allowances or against the absence thereof. You must submit the appeal to the secretariat of the Disputes Committee by:
- e-mail: Geschillencommissie@kindengezin.be
- letter: Opgroeien Regie (Kind en Gezin), Disputes Committee, Avenue de la Porte de Hal 27, 1060 Brussels
You can also deliver your appeal yourself. This must be done within three months from the third day after the day you were informed of the decision. That period is interrupted when you have filed a complaint or request for mediation with the Complaints and Mediation Service of the Growth Package Payment Agency. The appeal to the Committee is free of charge, except if the appeal is considered "provocative" or "reckless". (Art. 1017 Judicial Code).
The Disputes Committee is not competent for disputes concerning the designation of the beneficiary or disputes concerning the qualification of the severity of the need for support. The Disputes Committee is only competent for appeals against a decision taken after 1.1.2019 and only for periods from 1.1.2019 (for periods before 1.1.2019, competency belongs to the labour court)
The Disputes Committee is not competent for disputes concerning the designation of the beneficiary or disputes concerning the qualification of the severity of the need for support. The Disputes Committee is only competent for appeals against a decision taken after 1.1.2019 and only for periods from 1.1.2019 (for periods before 1.1.2019, competency belongs to the labour court)
4° You may lodge an appeal against the decision of the Disputes Committee and against a provisional measure taken by the chairman of the Disputes Committee with the Labour Court.
You do so by sending a dated and signed appeal by registered letter to the registry of the labour court competent for your region. You can also deliver your appeal yourself. This must be done within three months from the third day after the day you were informed of the Disputes Committee’s decision. The appeal to the Committee is free of charge, except if the appeal is considered "provocative" or "reckless" (Art. 1017 of the Judicial Code). You can go to court yourself or be represented by a union representative with a written power of attorney. You can hire a lawyer at your own expense. The judge may also authorise your spouse, the person with whom you legally cohabit or a (blood) relative to represent you by means of a written power of attorney (Art. 728 of the Judicial Code).
5° You can always make a complaint to the Vlaamse Ombudsman's Office via:
- the free phone number 1700, every working day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- e-mail: klachten@vlaamseombudsdienst.be
- letter: Vlaamse Ombudsman, Leuvenseweg 86, 1000 Brussels
You can make a personal appointment in advance.