Complaints
In this section
Complaints procedure
Where a matter is sufficiently serious to accord with the definition of a complaint and cannot be resolved through informal contacts or discussion, your expression of dissatisfaction will be treated as a complaint.
Complaint stages
Stage 1
Complaints should be submitted to the Complaints team via email, who will assign it to the relevant Head of Service for investigation and response.
Complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days. We aim to reply within 10 working days from the day of acknowledgement. If we require longer, we will let you know.
Stage 2
If you are not satisfied with the stage 1 response, you can request that your complaint is escalated to stage 2 where it will be reviewed by the relevant Director. When making a stage 2 complaint, it is helpful if you can explain why you are dissatisfied and what you would like as the outcome.
Stage 2 complaints should be made within 20 working days from the stage 1 response being issued but we will consider if there are good reasons to escalate after this time in line with any guidance issued by the LGSCO.
Complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days. We aim to reply within 20 working days from the day of acknowledgement. If we require longer, we will let you know.
How we can respond to complaints
If your complaint is upheld, we will let you know what we will do make things right. If your complaint is not upheld, you will be informed of the reasons for the decision.
Complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman
If you’re unhappy with the way that we have handled your complaints, you can contact the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman. This is an independent national service that investigates complaints against councils.
If you wish to raise your complaint with the Ombudsman you can find out more information about how to do so below:
- LGO website: how to complain
- Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Unreasonably persistent complaints
We value all kinds of customer feedback and complaints are treated seriously and recognised as a way for us to identify and implement service improvements. However, there are a small number of complainants who, because of the frequency or nature of their contact, hinder our consideration of their or other people’s, complaints. In such cases we will take action to limit their contact with us. Further detail is set out in the policy below.