Complaints procedure - stage 1
When you submit your complaint you will receive an automated email with your case reference number, and your case will be passed to the relevant person or department.
If we require more information or clarification on the issue, we will aim to contact you within five working days of your complaint being received.
Where we consider that a complaint can be quickly resolved with a phone call, or where we feel a phone call is required to clarify any points, we will contact you in this way should you be happy for us to do so.
The complaint will be investigated by an appropriate officer.
A response will be sent to you within 30 days (consecutive days) of the acknowledgement where this is practical, but where this is not possible because of:
- the complexity of the matter to which the complaint relates
- exceptional or unforeseen circumstances
We will let you know and give an indicative timescale of when a full response will be provided.
The stage 1 response will include information about what you can do if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with.
Complaints procedure stage 2
You should ask for your original complaint to be referred to stage two within 3 months of receiving the response under stage 1. You can do that here online, by letter or over the phone.
We will ask you to tell us the reasons why you believe your complaint has not been properly resolved in order that the stage 2 consideration can be focused on the specific outstanding elements of the complaint.
The complaint may be considered by an appropriate senior officer from a different part of the organisation to the officer who dealt with your original complaint.
This stage 2 complaint process will:
- look at whether your original complaint was properly considered
- ensure that key issues you have raised have not been missed
- issue a final decision
A stage 2 response will be prepared and sent to you within 30 days (consecutive days) of acknowledgement of receipt where this is practical, but where this is not possible because of:
- the complexity of the matter to which the complaint relates
- exceptional or unforeseen circumstances,
We will let you know, and give an indicative timescale of, when a full response will be provided.
The response will include information about how to refer the matter to the Ombudsman if you are still unhappy after the Council's response (see below).
Still not satisfied - Local Government Ombudsman
If you have been through all stages of our complaints procedure and are still unhappy, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to review your complaint.
The Ombudsman has issued a Complaint Handling Code which sets out advice and guidance for councils on how to handle complaints. You can find more information about this on the Ombudsman’s website (Complaint Handling Code - Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman).
The Ombudsman investigates complaints in a fair and independent way - it does not take sides. It is a free service.
The Ombudsman expects you to have given us chance to deal with your complaint, before you contact them. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable time, it may decide to look into your complaint anyway.
About the Ombudsman
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at individual complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services. It also investigates complaints about all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) for people who self-fund their care. There are some limits on what the Ombudsman can look at.
Contact
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
You can also download a version of this wording in Easy Read (pictures and words) format.
