Formal Complaints Procedure
Stage One
If you have a complaint with any of the services you have
received from Ashford Borough Council please advise us of your
complaint either in writing, in person or over the telephone. The
complaint will be dealt with by the relevant officer that has been
dealing with you. After your complaint has arrived in the relevant
department we will take the following steps.
By day 3 (working
days)
We will have acknowledged your letter and passed to the relevant
officer/ manager to respond.
By day 15 (working days)
We will have investigated your complaint and sent a written
response. In some cases we may need more time to respond. If so, we
will write to you with an update of the situation. This reply is
the formal response to the first stage of a complaint.
Stage Two
If you remain dissatisfied after receiving your first response,
please address any further complaint to the relevant Head
of Service (listed below) who will investigate the matter
further and respond to you.
Again we hope to acknowledge your complaint within 3 working
days and have responded within 15 working days in most cases. This
reply is the formal response to the second stage of a
complaint.
Stage Three
If you remain dissatisfied after receiving your second response,
please address any further complaint again to the relevant Head of
Service.
They will then pass the complaint to an Independent Service
Manager or Director(within another department) who will investigate
the matter further and respond to you within the previously stated
timelimits.
Stage Four
If you still remain dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of
this matter you may then contact The Local Government
Ombudsman.
The Local Government Ombudsman is an independent person who
investigates allegations of maladministration causing injustice to
the person who has complained. The Ombudsman investigates
complaints about most Council matters including housing, planning,
and council tax. Our Ombudsman is:
The Local Government Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
LONDON
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0207 217 4620
Fax: 0207 217 4621
The Local Government Ombudsman has a leaflet called Complaint
about the Council? How to complain to the Local Government
Ombudsman. You can get a copy from the Civic Centre, by telephoning
or writing to the address above, or you can download it from the
Ombudsman's website. If you have an
enquiry about the Local Government Ombudsman's service you can
telephone their Adviceline on 0845 602 1983.
Please see below for the latest Ombudsman's report on complaints
at Ashford Borough Council:
Council's Monitoring Officer
If you wish to complain because you believe that the Council, a
Councillor or a Council Officer have breached either legal rules or
a code of conduct you should contact the Council's Monitoring
Officer. Your call will be treated in the strictest of
confidence.
What You Can Expect From Us
You can expect a full and fair investigation of your complaint.
We will be pleased to explain any council procedure or rules that
are not clear to you. Although there is a possibility that you will
not like the outcome of your complaint, you should be satisfied
that we have dealt with it fairly. You can be assured that we will
respect your confidentiality. For example, if you tell us about
someone you think has broken planning rules, your name will not be
given to the person involved.
You must realise, though, that we do not welcome malicious
complaints, and our code of confidentiality may not apply in these
cases. In most cases, if you are proved to have a justifiable
complaint you can expect us to put it right. There will be
occasions when a complaint which is justified has involved you in
extra expense or financial loss. In such cases, you may be offered
an 'ex gratia' payment. This will be at the council's discretion
and will not imply any legal liability.
Additional Information or Help
We hope this webpage has provided you with all the information
you require. However if you have any further questions please do
not hesitate to contact us directly. Through our complaints system
we aim to cater for a variety of different needs, and ensure
everyone in our community is treated fairly and equally.
If you would like information on our complaints procedure in a
different format, then please ask us and we will be happy to
provide it for you. We are able to provide the information in large
print, and if you tell us in advance we can usually produce it in
whatever size you would like, or in other languages if given
sufficient notice. Our complaints procedure is also available on
audio tape, and we have a minicom service telephone 01233 637311
for details.
Make a Complaint Online
A formal complaint can now be made online by completing a
Formal Complaint Form. This will be
forwarded to the correct person depending on the stage and
subject of compaint.
Useful Contacts
Ashford Borough Council
Civic Centre
Tannery Lane
Ashford
Kent
TN23 1PL
Tel: 01233 637311
Fax: 01233 645654
Local Government Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
LONDON
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0207 217 4620
Fax: 0207 217 4621
Citizens' Advice Bureaux
Tel: 01233 626185 (Ashford) / 01580 762371 (Tenterden)
This webpage was updated on 10/10/2008