Tell us what we did wrong

We want to hear what went wrong so we can put it right.

We take your complaints very seriously and sometimes need to take time to find out what happened. You will hear from us within 10 days, as in our complaints policy (PDF 297 KB), but if you would like to talk to someone sooner, it is often best to speak to the service that you had an issue with directly so they can do something about it.

If want to let us know about a missed collection, litter, fly tipping or broken street light please make a report. By making a complaint instead we will not be able to deal with your issue as quickly as we would like.

For information on how we process your data, please read our complaints privacy notice.

What to expect

We operate a two stage complaints process.

Stage 1

When you raise an issue, we will check to see if we can handle the complaint. We will let you know if there is a different process for dealing with the matter.

If the matter can be dealt with under our complaints process, we will investigate the points raised in your complaint under Stage 1 of the process.

We aim to respond to complaints at Stage 1 within 10 working days however, in some cases, it may take longer to respond, if this happens we will keep you updated.

Stage 2

If you are not satisfied with the response you received at Stage 1 you can ask for your complaint to be escalated to Stage 2 of our complaints process within 1 calendar month of the date of your stage 1 response. During this stage an investigating officer will review your complaint.

We aim to respond to complaints at Stage 2 within 20 working days however, in some cases, it may take longer to respond, if this happens we will keep you updated.

What happens if you are not satisfied with the review response at Stage 2?

If you are still not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you can ask either The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) or, if the complaint relates to tenant/landlord functions, the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS), to investigate your complaint. You can contact the relevant Ombudsman service for advice at any stage of the complaint process.

The Council will respond to complaints promptly and efficiently, resolving complaints quickly wherever possible. We will use the information received from complaints to drive improvements. Each year we undertake a self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling code. Details regarding the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code can be found here Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

View a copy of our most recent Complaint Handling Code Self-assessment.

Select the correct procedure to make a complaint

Service specific complaints

Complaints not covered by the Corporate Complaints Procedure

Some complaints are not covered by the Corporate Complaints Procedure, please use the specific service procedure:

Corporate complaints

Corporate complaints include services such as Blue Badge, community safety, Council Tax, highways and parking, housing, parks, libraries, planning and schools.

Make a complaint

Member complaints

You should use the form below for complaints which involve a breach of the Code of Conduct for Members who are acting in their official capacity as Members.

MP complaints

If you want to make a complaint about a MP, you should contact the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

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