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On June last year I have attended a court case as a witness. I had to spend a lot of money on travelling and food because the case was in a different Country. I was asked by the Police officer that I was in contact with to collect receipts and send them to him after the case is done so he can issue a refund for my expenses.

I did as asked. Everything went fine and I sent the receipts as soon as I could. In the couple of months after the case I was occasionally chatting with the Police officer via e-mail and he was always saying that I'll get my refund and I just have to wait. Initially I was fine with that because I remember doing paid voluntary work in college and it took the college about 6 months to pay me.

Around Christmas time I was told that I'll be getting the refund in January this year for sure. Now it's almost the end of March and the money is still nowhere to be seen. I'm infuriated. When I ask the Police officer now continues to make vague promises that everything is fine and I'll get my money back but doesn't say when.

The police agency involved is Garda Síochána, Ireland.

What can I do to get my money back?

user
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Shady Programmer
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1 Answers1

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I can think of a couple of options for you.

One would be to write a letter to Acting Garda Commissioner Ó Cualáin, the head of the Garda Síochána. The address of headquarters is An Garda Síochána Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, D08 HN3X.

Another option is to contact the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), an independent agency that addresses complaints about the Garda Síochána. You can file a complaint right from their website.

I don't know which route is more likely to get you results, but if you pick one and try it, wait a while to give them a chance to resolve it before you try the other one.

No matter which one you pick, be sure to include all the details necessary for them to investigate the matter. You don't want your complaint ignored simply because they had too many questions to figure out the situation. Good luck.

Ben Miller
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