What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction or concern made by the customer about the standard of service, actions or lack of actions by the council and its staff, affecting an individual customer or group of customers.
Our complaints process should not be used for:
- service requests, common requests include:
- missed bin collections
- grass cutting
- fly tipping or graffiti
- view your council tax bill
- other service request forms
- appeals against a decision such as:
- complaints about a councillor
- complaints about issues that are more than 12 months old unless there are exceptional circumstances
- complaints made by our suppliers, partners, and other public authorities regarding our business relations.
How we deal with complaints
Informal stage
We do not always get it right. Where we have let you down, we will try to put things right immediately.
Before making a formal complaint you should contact the relevant service first. This gives us an opportunity to check if the issue can be resolved through simple steps
The quickest way to do this is to use our online contact forms or contact us.
Formal complaints
If we are unable to resolve the issue informally, complaints follow the process set out below:
Stage 1:
Formal complaints are registered and acknowledged within 3 working days and recorded by Customer Services.
The complaint is considered by the appropriate team leader or manager.
You should receive a response within 10 working days. If your response will take longer than 10 working days, we will inform you and explain why.
Stage 2:
The complaint is registered and acknowledged within 3 working days and then considered by the appropriate Head of Service or Director.
You should receive a response within 10 working days.
This is the final stage of response from us.
If you are still unhappy with the way we have dealt with your complaint you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman and Social Care Ombudsman.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Make a complaint
You can make a formal complaint online, or by:
- calling us on 01772 625625
- visiting our Civic Centre offices
- writing to South Ribble Borough Council, Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland, PR25 1DH