How will the council deal with my complaint?

The views of our residents, service users and customers are important to us. Breckland Council is committed to high standards of customer care, service delivery and performance.

If we do well, it is always good to know, however when things go wrong we want to know about it, so we can take steps to avoid it happening in the future and improve our services.

Breckland Council's complaints procedure

The formal complaints procedure is intended to ensure that all complaints are handled fairly, consistently and wherever possible resolved to the complainant's satisfaction.

Most complaints are sorted out quickly and amicably at this stage. Some complaints may take more time to investigate, but we will keep you informed of our actions and the progress we have made.

The aims of this procedure

• Provide an effective means for customers to complain if they are dissatisfied with the service they receive.
• Ensure complaints are dealt with in a courteous, efficient manner and are resolved without avoidable delay.
• Provide customers with a formal method of challenging decisions we have made.
• Analyse data and trends about our services, to inform future policy and service planning.
• Maintain records of complaints made so that reviews can be produced for monitoring and public accountability.

The complaints procedure has two stages:

Stage one

• This is the investigation stage.
• Responsibility sits with the Team Leader/Manager of the relevant service.
• The purpose is to fully investigate the complaint and the emphasis is on trying to reach a resolution.
• We aim to respond within 15 working days for Corporate Complaints and 10 working days for Housing Landlord Complaints.

If a resolution cannot be reached, the complainant has the right to escalate their complaint to stage two.

Stage two

• This is the review stage.
• Responsibility sits with the relevant Manager/Assistant Director/Director of the relevant service.
• To carry out a review of the response we provided to the complaint at stage one, as well as any new relevant information provided by the complainant.
• We aim to respond within 20 working days.

Find out more about the complaints procedure

For full details about how we handle complaints, including response times, responsibilities, and escalation routes, please see our Full Complaints Procedure (PDF, 3 MB)(opens new window).

Housing Ombudsman

To support transparency and meet the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, we publish our latest Self-Assessment Form and Annual Report. These documents set out how we meet the Code's requirements and how we continue to improve our landlord services.

• Housing Ombudsman Self-Assessment Form (PDF, 279 KB)(opens new window)
• Annual Complaints Report – Housing Services (PDF, 131 KB)(opens new window)

What happens next?

If your complaint is considered to be justified, you will receive, at least, an apology. Whenever it is in the council's power to do so, appropriate remedial action will be taken. Our aim is to resolve the root of the problem and, when appropriate, to change the way we work to provide a better service in the future.

If you are still not satisfied after both stages of this procedure, you can contact:

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Website:Local Government Ombudsman (opens new window)

Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ
Telephone: 0300 111 3000
Website: Housing Ombudsman Service (opens new window)