Complaints Procedure

At Fareham Borough Council we aim to provide you with high quality services at all times.  However, we recognise that sometimes our services may not have been of the standard you expected.

 

If you are reading this because you feel that the Council has done something wrong or failed to do something you expected it to, this guide is to help you to tell us why you are not satisfied and to explain how we will deal with your complaint.

 

Does This Procedure Apply To All Complaints

This guide will apply to most complaints but there are some cases which will be treated in a different way. 

 

You should not normally use this procedure where you have a statutory or other formal right of appeal.  Examples would be where you wish to contest a parking penalty charge notice; you wish to appeal against the refusal of planning permission, or against the decision of a Licensing Panel not to grant you a licence.  You will be advised if this applies to your case.

 

Also, if your complaint relates to the conduct or behaviour of a Councillor or a co-opted member you should contact the Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer who will advise you further.

 

This procedure will apply to complaints which arise where the Council is working in partnership with another body, unless other arrangements have been agreed.  You will be advised if this is the case.

 

There may be other cases where this procedure is not appropriate, for example if your complaint relates to the Council’s adoption of a policy rather than the application or implementation of it, and where this has been subject to consultation or statutory procedures.  You will be advised if your complaint falls into this category.  If you are in any doubt, please contact the Solicitor to the Council for further advice.

 

The First Stage

If you have not previously contacted the Council about the matter, and you do not have the name of an officer who is dealing with it, you should contact one of our Customer Service Advisers to tell them what the problem is and what you would like the Council to do about it. 

 

They can be contacted by telephone on 01329 236100 or by email on customerservices@fareham.gov.uk or by post:

 

Customer Service Centre

Fareham Borough Council

Civic Offices

Civic Way

Fareham

PO16 7AZ

 

To make sure we have all the information we need you may either complete an electronic Complaint Form, or alternatively, you may print off a paper version Complaint form     39Kb, completing the details requested, or, include the information in your letter or email of complaint.  If you make a complaint by telephone please give this information when you call.

 

If you have already contacted the Council about the matter or you know the name of the Council Officer dealing with it you should contact them to tell them what the problem is and what you would like the Council to do about it.

 

On receipt of your complaint a Customer Services Adviser will either deal with the matter or refer it to an officer in the department responsible for the service, and you will be kept advised of progress.  You will receive a full response within 5 working days, or be advised of progress if this is not possible.

 

If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you should advise the officer who has dealt with the matter.  You should write to him / her within 3 weeks of receiving the response to your complaint explaining why you are not satisfied.  Please include any additional or further information which you would like to be taken onto account.  Your complaint will then proceed to the second stage.

 

The Second Stage

At the second stage of the complaints procedure, a senior manager in the department responsible for the service will consider your complaint and reply to you.  Normally this will be within ten working days after you ask for your complaint to be further considered, but you will be advised of progress if it is not possible to provide a full response at this time. 

 

If you are not satisfied with the reply from the senior manager you should advise him or her, and set out in writing the reasons why you are not satisfied.  You should do this within 3 weeks of receiving the senior manager’s response to your complaint.  Your complaint will then proceed to the third and final stage.

 

The Third Stage

At the third stage a senior officer (“the Investigating Officer”) who has not previously been involved in the matter will consider your complaint.

 

The way in which the matter is further considered will depend on the reasons you have given for wanting your complaint to proceed to the third stage.  In most cases, the Investigating Officer will contact you and others involved and read any relevant correspondence and papers by way of investigation.  He / she will then prepare a report with a recommendation for consideration by or on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer who will consider it and advise you of his formal decision on the complaint.  This stage will normally take no more than 28 days but you will be advised of progress if it is not possible to provide a full response within this time.

 

This is the end of the Council’s complaints procedure.

 

The Local Government Ombudsman

If you are dissatisfied at this stage, you may contact the Local Government Ombudsman.  Before considering cases the Ombudsman will normally wish to see that the Council has had the opportunity to consider the matter through its complaints procedure, and may refer cases back to the Council where this has not been done.

 

You may contact the Local Government Ombudsman by writing to:

 

The Commissioner for Local Administration in England

The Oaks No 2

Westwood Way

Westwood Business Park

Coventry

CV4 8JB

 

Tel: 024 7682 0000     website: http://www.lgo.org.uk/ (This is an external hyperlink)

 

Unreasonable Or Unreasonably Persistent Complainants

Whilst we understand that you may be angry or upset about a particular matter we will seek to deal with your complaint in a positive way and do whatever is reasonable and practicable to put things right as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately a very small minority of complainants seek to pursue unreasonable complaints, unreasonable outcomes or behave in an unacceptably offensive or aggressive manner towards the officers who are trying to assist.  In order to deal with the majority of our customers promptly and efficiently we will not spend excessive time or resources in dealing with complaints which are not pursued reasonably.  If this is the case with your complaint we will let you know how it will be dealt with.