How to make a complaint

We are committed to providing the best possible standard of service. However, we accept that things can sometimes go wrong. If we make a mistake, please let us know about it so that we can try to put things right.

Before you make a complaint 

You can get some issues dealt with quickly and easily by contacting the service directly. For example, you can report:

• a missed bin collection
• a pot hole or broken pavement
• a noise, smell or light problem near where you live
• graffiti and fly-posting
• a problem with a street light

You can also report litter, illegal rubbish dumping, and other problems in streets and roads to us online.

If you have tried reporting the problem and it has not been resolved, or you are unsatisfied with any of the services you have received from us, you can make an official complaint.

If you are not satisfied with the service you have received from us, you can make a formal complaint online.

The council will also accept complaints from third parties who have the customer's permission to act on their behalf in making a complaint. This can be any person or organisation such as a friend or relative, councillor or MP, solicitor or Citizens Advice.

You can make a complaint using My Account. It's quicker, you can monitor the progress of your complaints and view your previous cases.

You can also submit a complaint without registering for, or logging into, My Account, however it will be anonymous and you will not be able to track the progress of your complaint.

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Using AI to draft complaints

You are welcome to use AI tools to help prepare correspondence. However, complaints are often easier to investigate when they are clear, concise and focused on the key issues.

To help us deal with your complaint as quickly as possible, please:

• clearly explain what happened and when
• focus on the main issues you would like investigated
• keep information factual and relevant
• tell us what outcome you are seeking.

Not all issues can be dealt with by our formal complaints procedure. The following services have their own specific appeals process:

• Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)
• Council Tax valuation
• Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support decisions
• Special Educational Needs (SEN)
• Schools admissions appeals
• Business Rate exemption or discount

Details on how to appeal about the rejection of a planning application or a planning enforcement notice will be included in the decision notice sent to you.

We will try to resolve the complaint at the first point of contact.

If it is not possible to resolve the complaint quickly, or if it is clear that we need to investigate it in more detail, we will refer it to the relevant department for investigation. The Council provides a two stage corporate complaints process.

Stage 1

Stage 1 corporate complaints are acknowledged within 5 working days of the complaint being received, and we aim to respond within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. However where a complaint is complex, covers a lot of historic data or there are various strands to the complaint, the Council may extend the complaint by up to a further 10 working days.

In the majority of cases, matters are resolved at this point. However, the Stage 1 response will inform the complainant of their right to request a final review (Stage 2) of their complaint if they remain dissatisfied. If the complainant does wish to proceed to this stage, it would be very helpful if they could clearly state what parts of their complaint have not been addressed satisfactorily and the reasons why, to make it easier for the investigator to focus their investigation on these areas.

Stage 2

Stage 2 corporate complaints are investigated independently from the department by the Complaints team. Stage 2 complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days from the receipt date of the Stage 2 request, and we aim to complete the investigation within 20 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. However where a complaint is complex, covers a lot of historic data or there are various strands to the complaint, the Council may extend the complaint by up to a further 20 working days.

If the complainant still remains dissatisfied, they have the opportunity to have their complaint considered by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) or the Housing Ombudsman, details of which will be included in the response.

Putting actions on hold during the investigation

Any actions we are taking that may have given rise to the complaint - for example Council Tax recovery proceedings - may be put on hold until we have finished the complaint investigation.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

If, after our final review, you are still unhappy with the result and wish to take your complaint further, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and ask them to consider your complaint.

The Ombudsman is a free, independent service that looks into complaints about councils.

You can contact the Ombudsman at:

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 OEH
Phone: 0300 061 0614
Website: www.lgo.org.uk

Housing Ombudsman

If your complaint concerns the management of Council Housing stock or repairs you can refer your concerns to the Housing Ombudsman. You can do this at any time by using the contact details below:

Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 1484,
Unit D,
Preston,
PR2 0ET PO
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Energy Ombudsman

Complaints that relate to the supply of heating or hot water through a communal or district heat network operated or managed by the Council including issues concerning billing, disputed balances, back billing, and meters or supply outages are considered by the Energy Ombudsman.

Energy Ombudsman
P.O. Box 966
Warrington
WA4 9DF
Email: enquiry@energyombudsman.org.
Website: https://www.energyombudsman.org