Corporate Complaints Policy
Making a complaint
The Council will accept complaints verbally or in writing by all its recognised communication channels including website and social media. A complaint that is submitted by a third party or representative will also be handled in line with the Council' complaints policy.
How our complaints procedure works
A complaint, not relating to the Council's role as social landlord, can be resolved at any time during the following three stages.
Stage one - problem solving
When a complaint is made, the service provider will try to deal with the complaint quickly and informally by providing information or taking appropriate action to the satisfaction of the customer.
Stage two - investigation of the complaint
If the complaint cannot be resolved immediately the complainant will receive a letter within five working days from receipt of the complaint. This will tell them:
- what stage the complaint is at
- what will be done in response to their complaint
- that their complaint will be dealt with within 20 working days and if this is not possible, why not and a date when a full response will be available
- who to contact about the complaint
Following the investigation, the complainant will receive the results in writing from a senior manager or, in the case of social housing complaints, the assigned Investigating Officer. If they are still unhappy, they can request a review of their complaint by the Chief Executive. This must be done within 10 working days of receiving the results.
Stage three - Chief Executive review
If a complainant is still dissatisfied after stage two, the complaint will be referred to the Chief Executive who will conduct an independent and impartial review into both the handling and outcome of the complaint and provide a full response to the complainant within twenty working days. However, this time period may be extended because of the complexity of the complaint.
When the Council has finished considering a complaint it will tell complainants how they can pursue their complaint with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
This is an independent service set up by the Government to investigate complaints about Councils. The complainant can refer their complaint at any time during the course of an investigation by the Council. However, it is usually expected that the complainant will exhaust the Council's procedure before involving the Ombudsman.
The Council will fully co-operate with the Ombudsman's investigation and consider any remedies proposed. The Ombudsman will decide whether or not the Council has acted unfairly or if a complainant has suffered an injustice as a result of maladministration. A report on the Ombudsman's findings will be sent to the Council.