How we handle complaints

The common things that go wrong

This does not include everything, but a complaint may be because:

• we have not provided a council service at the right level or standard
• we have not followed law, guidance or polices
• we have not dealt fast enough with requests for a service or questions about it
• someone has shown poor behaviour, such as being rude or unfair
• someone has not treated you equally or with respect

How we will investigate your complaint

We will:

• look at what happened and compare it to what should have happened.
• follow the law, guidance, and policies. We will base our decisions on sound evidence and decide each complaint on its own merits.
• be honest when things have gone wrong.
• be fair and not discriminate against you.
• keep you informed of progress.
• explain clearly why decisions have been made.

If we have done something wrong, we will apologise and take steps to put things right.

We will use what we learn from complaints to improve our services.

Sharing Information

We will involve the right people with your complaint at each stage.

Where we can, we will keep the information you give us in confidence. But to investigate we may need to talk to the people involved in your complaint.

Where your complaint does not just involve the Council, we may carry out a joint investigation.

Not being able to share information may make it difficult to give you an answer. If you are worried about confidentiality, let us know. We will talk to you about how best to help you.

For information on how we handle your data, see our Privacy Notice.

What we need from you

We will treat you politely and with respect. We expect you to treat our staff in the same way. We will not tolerate:

• abusive, intimidating, or threatening behaviour
• swearing and offensive language
• shouting on the phone
• racial abuse, or
• any form of discrimination

We have a policy on how we manage unreasonable behaviour from people who make complaints.