Make a complaint about a council service
You can make a complaint about a council service using our online complaints form.
Other ways to make a complaint
There is a separate process to:
- make a complaint about adult social care
- make a complaint about children's social care
- make a complaint about a councillor
- make a complaint about housing
- appeal or report something
You can also make a suggestion or give a compliment.
How we will deal with your complaint
We will deal with your complaint in 2 stages.
Stage 1 – service investigation
When we receive your complaint we will:
- acknowledge it within 5 working days
- send you a full response within 10 working days
If we need more time we will let you know and give you a new date for our response.
We will include contact details of the feedback and resolutions team in our stage 1 response.
Stage 2 – review
If you are unhappy with our response, you can ask the feedback and resolutions team to review your complaint.
The team will try to resolve your complaint and may investigate further. They will:
- acknowledge your request to continue with your complaint within 5 working days
- reply to you in writing within 20 working days
- signpost you to the correct ombudsman (government-appointed official) if you want to continue with your complaint
If they need more time to investigate your complaint, the feedback and resolutions officer will let you know and give you a new date for their response.
Our resident feedback policy
You can read more on how we deal with complaints in our resident feedback policy.
If you would like a copy of this policy to be printed, please ask at one of our Customer Service centres. Please let us know if you require this policy in a different format.
If you're making a complaint on behalf of someone else
If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, we need their written consent. Please ask the person on whose behalf you are complaining to complete the client consent form .
You can then upload the completed consent form when you submit the complaint.
Unreasonable or unacceptable customer behaviour
We are committed to dealing with all customers fairly, ensuring we provide:
- high-quality services
- a clear and timely response
In a minority of cases, some customers' behaviour is unacceptable or unreasonable – this:
- impacts on resources
- affects the wellbeing of our staff
- can hinder our service provision to others
On rare occasions, we may need to take proportionate action to limit our contact with these customers.
Our policy for managing unreasonable or unacceptable customer behaviour shows how we deal with unreasonable complainants and customers.
Annual feedback and resolution report
The annual feedback and resolution report (2022 to 2023) provides an update on how we are learning from the feedback we receive from residents, and how we use it to shape and improve our services.