A complaint?

Contact your payment fund. Check your Groeipakket payment fund's letters for their contact details.

Contact the Agentschap Uitbetaling Groeipakket's Klachten- en Bemiddelingsdienst. They help by mediating between the payment fund and your family.
 

Contact the Klachten- en Bemiddelingsdienst if you are not satisfied with:

• information you have received because it is incorrect, incomplete or incomprehensible
• the actions or the attitude of a counsellor (on the phone or at the counter)
• the quality of the services provided (accessibility buildings/employees, waiting times, lost papers etc.)
• the compliance with legal obligations (e.g. privacy protection)

Contact them by:

• phone: 02 897 10 60 (every working day from 8.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.)
• e-mail: info@groeipakket.be
• post: Agentschap Uitbetaling Groeipakket, Klachten- en Bemiddelingsdienst, Trierstraat 9, 1000 Brussels
   

The following complaints will not be handled: 

• anonymous complaints or complaints in which the claimant has no interest
• complaints about matters for which the Agentschap Uitbetaling Groeipakket does not have jurisdiction
• complaints about cases that took place more than one year before the complaint was filed.    

Complaints concerning the care allowance for children with specific support needs. 

You can appeal a decision by your payment fund about the payment of allowances or the failure to do so before Opgroeien's Geschillencommissie. You must submit the appeal to the Geschillencommissie's secretariat by:

• e-mail: geschillencommissie@opgroeien.be
• post: Opgroeien, Geschillencommissie, Hallepoortlaan 27, 1060 Brussels
• personal delivery to the reception desk at the aforementioned address.

You have three months to do so, starting from the third day after the day you were informed of the decision. This period is interrupted if you have filed a complaint or a request for mediation with the Agentschap Uitbetaling Groeipakket's Klachten- en Bemiddelingsdienst.

The appeal to the Geschillencommissie is free of charge, except if the appeal is considered ‘vexatious’ or ‘frivolous’ (Article 1017 Judicial Code).

The Geschillencommissie does not have jurisdiction over:

• disputes about the designation of the beneficiary. Contact the family court for these cases.
• disputes about the qualification of the gravity of the support need regarding the care allowance. See this page for more information.

The Geschillencommissie only has jurisdiction for appeals against a decision made after 1 January 2019 and only for periods from 1 January 2019 onwards (for periods before 1 January 2019, the labour court has jurisdiction).

You can appeal the Geschillencommissie's decision and a provisional measure taken by the chairman of the Geschillencommissie before the labour court.

You do so by sending a dated and signed petition by registered mail to the registry of the labour court competent for your canton. You can find which court has jurisdiction for your place of residence at https://territoriale-bevoegdheid.just.fgov.be/cgi-main/competence-territoriale.pl.

You can also file your petition there yourself.

You have three months to do so, starting from the third day after the day you were informed of the Geschillencommissie's decision.

The appeal is free of charge, except if the appeal is considered ‘vexatious’ or ‘frivolous’ (Article 1017 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 court can also authorise your spouse, the person you legally cohabit with or a (blood) relative to represent you with a written power of attorney (Article 728 Judicial Code).

You can also always direct your complaint to the Vlaamse Ombudsdienst

You can do so by:

• phone: the toll-free number 1700, every working day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.µ
• e-mail: klachten@vlaamseombudsdienst.be
• post: Vlaamse Ombudsdienst, Leuvenseweg 86, 1000 Brussels

You can go there in person as well, if you make an appointment in advance.