Make a complaint

We welcome your feedback so that the services we provide to you can be improved.

If you need to request or report a service such as a road obstruction or missed bin collection, select the issue on our report it page or search using our homepage. This helps us to resolve the issue before raising an official complaint.

Let us know if you are dissatisfied with or have failed to receive a service. We will resolve your concerns as quickly as possible.

How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint online, in person, by phone, by letter or by completing our help us to get it right feedback form.

What services use a different complaint method

Some services use a different complaint method. You can let us know if you want to complain about the following and we will provide the appropriate contact details:

• school or school curriculum
• social services
• planning application decisions
• housing eligibility
• the amount of housing benefit granted
• your liability to pay council tax or the amount of council tax you are liable to pay
• employment matters
• parking tickets (penalty charge notices)

What happens when you complain

We follow a customer feedback procedure to make sure that every complaint is dealt with fairly and resolved as quickly as possible. 

This is usually a 2-stage process with an optional third stage.

Stage 1

You can expect to receive a full response to your complaint within 10 working days.

We will contact you if we expect the decision to take longer.

If you are not happy with the decision you can ask for it to be moved to stage 2 within 20 working days of the date of our response letter.

Stage 2

Your complaint will be investigated by a senior member of staff who is independent of the department your complaint is about.

A full report of the investigation and decision will be sent to you.

If you are not happy with the report you can ask for it to be moved to stage 3 within 20 days of receiving it, or you can complain directly to the local government ombudsman.

Stage 3 (optional)

Your complaint will be heard by our complaints review panel of three councillors within 30 working days of receipt of your request.

Still unhappy with how we have responded to your complaint

If after stage 2 or stage 3 you are still unhappy with our response you can complain directly to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Monitoring our performance

After your complaint has been investigated, we will send you a questionnaire to ask if you were satisfied with the complaints handling process.

Anonymous complaints

Anonymous complaints will be investigated but due to their anonymous nature, it is not possible to follow all stages of the procedure or provide a response.