Complaints

We want to resolve your complaint as fully as possible, so we encourage you to allow us to complete our complaints process first. This gives us the best opportunity to investigate and put things right as quickly as we can.

If you remain unhappy after receiving your final response (Stage 2), you can ask an independent Ombudsman to review your complaint. This is a free service. They will usually expect the council to have completed its investigation before becoming involved although you can contact them at any stage in the complaints process.

Depending on the nature of your complaint, you can contact:

• the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) – for complaints about council services and adult social care 
• the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) – for complaints about housing, including tenant and leaseholder matters 

Both Ombudsman services investigate complaints independently and impartially - they do not take sides.

Our complaints process follows the Ombudsman Complaint Handling Codes, which set out good practice for managing complaints fairly and effectively:

• Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – Complaint Handling Code 
• Housing Ombudsman Service – Complaint Handling Code