News

29 December 2025

The year 2025 was extremely intense and crucial for the Ombudsman Institution. After more than 15 months, on 18 July, Velislava Delcheva was elected Ombudsman, and shortly afterwards, on 10 September, Maria Filipova was elected Deputy Ombudsman.

Between 1 January and mid-December 2025, the Institution received over 10,000 complaints and reports – a number that is practically equal to that of the previous year. The high volume of complaints and reports is a clear sign of the sustained trust in the Ombudsman Institution.

In addition to working on complaints and reports, by mid-December 2025, nearly 70,000 citizens had received assistance from the Ombudsman Institution through consultations, inspections, recommendations, outreach visits, and active intervention with state and local authorities.

Consumer rights – the largest share of complaints

In 2025, traditionally, the largest share of complaints are related to violated consumer rights. If all complaints against utility and financial service providers – heating companies, water and sewerage operators, electricity suppliers, telecoms, banks, insurers, and quick loan companies – are combined, they account for nearly one-third of all complaints received by mid-December 2025.

There were nearly 700 complaints against heating companies alone, and over 570 related to water and sewerage services, with the severe water crisis in 2025 in a number of regions further exacerbating public tension.

Water and sewerage services – from complaints to real legislative solutions

With regard to water and sewerage services, the Ombudsman Institution consistently and categorically insists on the abolition of the so-called "water meter fee," for a fairer model of water pricing, and for the introduction of compensation for citizens in cases of poor drinking water quality.

As a result of the Institution's active position, key proposals by the Ombudsman, set out in the opinion on the new Water Supply and Sewerage Act and submitted to the National Assembly, have already been accepted. These include: the abolition of the "water meter fee"; the removal of the requirement that only one water and sewerage operator may operate within a given territory; the introduction of a compensation mechanism for citizens in the event of poor water quality, including when mud flows from the taps or the water is below regulatory standards.

Quick loans – real results after the Ombudsman's intervention

In the context of complaints against quick loan companies, the Ombudsman Institution also reports a specific regulatory result after a proposal was made to the Bulgarian National Bank. As a result, a change was made whereby, once a court decision declaring the contract null and void has entered into force, the information about the debt must be corrected, allowing citizens to be removed from the registers as debtors.

Property rights and economic freedom

Among the major groups of complaints in 2025 are reports of violations of property rights and economic freedom related to construction and zoning restrictions, expropriation procedures, restitution, and disputes over municipal and state property, as well as numerous petitions against violations of environmental standards by investment projects or against environmental pollution by factories and plants.

Access to justice and actions of private enforcement agents

There are nearly 500 complaints and reports of violations of the right of access to justice. This group includes complaints against the actions of private enforcement agents, including seizures of non-seizable income.

In a number of cases, citizens claim that they only learn about enforcement proceedings against them after their funds have been frozen, which makes it impossible for them to cover their basic living expenses.

There are also frequent complaints that non-seizable funds can only be withdrawn at bank counters, but not from ATMs. This particularly affects elderly and immobile people with frozen bank accounts, who have to travel to a bank branch to receive the non-seizable amounts at the cash desk, including waiting for permission to withdraw them, instead of using an ATM near their home or giving their bank card to a trusted person.

In this regard, the Ombudsman Institution sent a recommendation to the Association of Banks in Bulgaria urging them to discuss options for withdrawing non-seizable funds from ATMs so that citizens' rights are effectively guaranteed.

Pensioners and people with disabilities

Pensioners and people with disabilities remain among the most affected groups. Particularly alarming are reports of delays or suspensions of TELK (Technical Expert Medical Commission) payments, with dozens of cases where citizens received their delayed funds after the intervention of the Ombudsman Institution.

Alongside the individual cases, the "Pensions in Euros" campaign was also implemented in 2025, in cooperation with the National Social Security Institute (NOI). During the outreach visits, dozens of citizens, mainly pensioners, were informed about the conversion of pensions from 1 January 2026 and the safeguards against abuse.

Children's rights

Over 460 complaints and reports related to children's rights were received by mid-December 2025.

The most common complaints concern access to education for children with special educational needs, protection from violence, and protection of the rights of children with disabilities. A number of petitions called for transparency, openness, and publicity in the discussion of key changes in the education system. The Ombudsman expressed her support for all of them in statements to the Ministry of Education and Science.

Alongside the work on complaints, the Ombudsman met with dozens of students from across the country and held open lessons on civic education, explaining in accessible language the fundamental rights of children and the mechanisms for their protection.

The National Preventive Mechanism and Human Rights

In 2025, the National Preventive Mechanism and Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms Directorate (NPMFHF) reports over 1,000 complaints and reports. The data shows high public sensitivity to violations of fundamental rights, especially in cases of detention, deprivation of liberty, provision of social and health services, migration, and protection of vulnerable groups.

During the year, the Directorate carried out 34 planned and unannounced inspections in prisons, pre-trial detention centers, psychiatric hospitals, homes for the elderly and children, accommodation centers, police facilities, and migration facilities throughout the country. The inspections focused on living conditions, the treatment of persons in vulnerable situations, and compliance with international human rights standards.

Alongside their monitoring activities, NPMSCH experts have intervened in specific human rights cases, ranging from incidents of police violence and death in custody, to problems with false positive drug tests, to the protection of the right to family life, access to treatment, social support, and freedom of movement. In a number of cases, the Ombudsman's intervention has led to real institutional decisions, changes in practices, and adjustments in administrative actions.

Priorities for 2026:

The Ombudsman Institution will continue to work towards:

 - reform of juvenile justice;

 - protection of the rights and income of people with disabilities;

 - protection of pensioners;

 - protecting property rights;

 - patients' rights and psychiatric care;

 - effective implementation of the functions of the National Preventive Mechanism.