How to make a complaint or compliment

Customer complaints procedure

Stage one

Once you have made your initial complaint the Democratic Services Officer will refer your complaint to the line manager responsible for the service. The line manager will respond in writing within 10 working days or will let you know when you can expect a reply. A copy of this response will be forwarded to the Democratic Services Officer.

If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been handled, you may ask for it to be reviewed (see stage two below).

Stage two

A request for a review should be made to the Democratic Services Officer, preferably in writing or by email. At this stage no additional information shall be submitted – if new information is submitted this will be regarded as a new complaint. Your complaint will be reviewed by an officer either senior to or independent of the officer who provided the response at stage one and you will receive a response within ten working days or be advised as to when you can expect a reply.

What if I am still dissatisfied?

If you are still unhappy after going through the council's complaints procedure, you can take your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Details of how to contact the Ombudsman will be included in the Stage two response to you.

Persistent complainants

We are committed to dealing with all complaints fairly and impartially and to providing a high quality of service to those who make them. We also have a duty to make sure that public money is spent wisely and achieves value for complainants and the wider public, and to protect the safety and welfare of our staff.

Occasionally there are complainants whose unreasonable behaviour makes this difficult to achieve. Want to find out more? Please download our Persistent and unreasonable complainant behaviour policy (PDF)

Last updated: 30/10/2023 12:02