If you are unhappy with a council service such as rubbish collection, recycling points or the local leisure facilities, you have the right to register a complaint. Learn about the steps you should take if you're thinking about making a complaint.
1. Contacting your council
Your first point of contact should be your local council. Councils often have a complaints department or separate procedures depending on the department at which the complaint is aimed. You can inform them of your complaint in a number of ways:
- Letter
- Phone
- In person
- Online form - check your council's website for this
Provide a detailed account of your complaint and make sure the right department is dealing with your complaint. Send copies of any documents that you may have to support your case and keep a note of who you speak to.
2. Waiting for a response
Your council will normally acknowledge your complaint within seven days. They will inform you how long it will take to process your complaint - most councils will investigate and reply to the complaint within 28 days. Contact the council again if they have not been in touch with you within this timeframe.
3. Reaching a solution
The council will contact you with a response to your complaint. This response may include improvements that they aim to make to a service or details of other actions they will take to avoid such a complaint in the future.
4. Speak to your councillor
You may want to contact your ward councillor for advice. Tell your councillor the name of the person dealing with your complaint. Your councillor can then raise the issue with the service concerned.
5. Taking it further
If you fail to reach an accepted conclusion with your council, you can take the issue further by contacting your local Ombudsman. Your local Ombudsman should only be contacted if you have already attempted to resolve your complaint directly with the council.
6. Your local Ombudsman
The Ombudsman cannot question whether a council decision is right or wrong on the basis that you disagree with the decision that was made. Contacting your local Ombudsman will lead to an investigation into whether the council is guilty of any maladministration that caused you injustice.
Useful links
When to make a complaint
- The council has not treated your fairly or politely
- You received a bad service
- The council failed to do something it was supposed to do
Where to make a complaint
- Complaints about a school - you will need to contact the school directly
- Complaints involving legal proceedings
- Complaints where special procedures apply such as those relating to Social Services
- Complaints over parking tickets and school admissions
Comment on this article
We want to hear your thoughts on this article. Do you have your own story to tell? Join in the discussion by leaving your comment below.
ADVERTISEMENT
By comparing gas and electricity plans you could save up to £350 a year on your energy bill. Simply enter your postcode and a few details and the uSwitch energy calculator will tell which plans are the cheapest for your needs.
Make sure you're getting the best home phone deal for your area - compare prices, call plans and customer service for all suppliers. You could save up to £140 in the first year on your phone bills.
Connect to the right broadband deal for you. The uSwitch broadband calculator will work out what sort of package you need, then compare suppliers to find the best on the market - from high speed deals to quadplay bundles.
The digital switchover, when analogue TV services in the UK are switched off, has already begun. Everyone needs to upgrade and switch to digital by the time the switchover reaches their area - find the best value solution here. It's easier than you might think.
Profile
Find out more about your neighbourhood including information about Family Income, Interest in Current Affairs, Housing, Education, Children and Satellite TV.
ADVERT SECTION