We are always trying to improve the services we provide to the community and do our best to provide quality services to our customers by treating them with care, respect and honesty.

Complaints can be made about any aspect of our services, including those caused by discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability, age or sexual orientation. We would like to ensure fair treatment and equal access to services and employment.

If you have something to say about the services we provide, please let us know. Any feedback from customers will help us to make further improvements to the services we provide.

What is a Complaint?

If you are not satisfied with a response that you received from an enquiry made to a service within the Council, you may feel that you wish to make a complaint.

A Complaint is when:

• We have failed to do something we should have done
• We have done something badly or in the wrong way
• You feel that you have been treated unfairly or discourteously.

Customer Complaints Procedure

Service failure complaints should be directed to the service provider in the first instance. However, if you are dissatisfied with the response, you can contact the Customer Service Centre to make a formal complaint through the Council’s Complaint Procedure. There are 3 stages to the procedure.

Stage 1
You can contact the Customer Service Centre with the details of your complaint. The Customer Service Centre will record a formal complaint at Stage 1 of the council’s complaint procedure, acknowledge the complaint within 2 working days of receipt, stating which complaint resolution officer is dealing with your complaint. You should receive a reply within 10 working days.

Stage 2
If you are not satisfied with the Stage 1 reply, you should contact the Customer Service Centre to refer your complaint to Stage 2 of the complaint procedure. The Customer Service Centre will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days of receipt, stating which complaint resolution officer is dealing with your complaint, who will carry out an investigation. You should receive a reply within 15 working days.

Stage 3
Within 4 weeks of receiving the Stage 2 reply, if you are still dissatisfied with the Council’s response to your complaint, you must contact the Customer Service Centre to make a Stage 3 complaint. The Customer Service Centre will acknowledge your Stage 3 complaint and refer it to a Strategic Director who will reply to you within 20 working days.

Further advice or assistance

Once you have been through all of the stages of the complaints procedure and you are still dissatisfied you can appeal to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Local Government Ombudsman
The Local Government Ombudsman investigates complaints of injustice arising from maladministration by Local Government and certain other bodies. The Ombudsmen can investigate complaints about how the council has done something. But they cannot question what a council has done simply because someone does not agree with it.

Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH
Tel: 0845 602 1983 or 0300 0610614

Or you can visit the Local Government Ombudsman’s website at www.lgo.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bureau
You may also like to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau for general help and advice:

Telephone the Citizens Advice Bureau on 08444 111 444

If you think you have suffered racial discrimination or harassment, you can contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission:

3 More London Riverside
Tooley Street
London
SE1 2RG
Tel: 0845 604 6610
Email: info@equalityhumanrights.com
www.equalityhumanrights.com

Local Ward Councillor
At any time during this process you may refer your complaint to your local ward councillor and it will be dealt with in line with the Council’s complaint procedure. If you do not know who your local councillor is, the Customer Service Centre will be able to help you, alternatively you can find out by clicking on the link to the right of this page 'Ward councillors'.