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Complaints and Compliments

We welcome your feedback and encourage your comments or suggestions about any of our services. It may be that your suggestion helps to change the way a service is delivered.

Housing Complaints

There is a separate policy for Housing Related complaints. Details, including how to complain, can be found here: Housing complaint or enquiry

Have we got it right?

If you think we’ve done something well, we’d love to hear from you. We want to learn from your feedback and use it to help us make improvements to our services. We will pass on all compliments to the service or member of staff concerned.

Have we got it wrong?

We want to hear from you if you think we have

  • Done something wrong or badly.
  • Not done something we should have.
  • Treated you unfairly or unprofessionally.
  • Been too slow to act.
  • Disagree with decision made/not listened to me.

Anonymised information regarding complaints is reported to senior management and elected members as part of the monitoring process with a view to service improvement.

What do we ask of you?

If you make a complaint or pay us a compliment please give us as much detail as possible about the service including dates, times and names of the people you dealt with if known. If making a complaint, please also let us know what you would like us to do to put things right.

If you are making a complaint for someone else, you will need their permission first. Please include your name, address and contact details as we cannot deal with any anonymous complaints.

Please note that we are unable to investigate anonymous complaints.

What can you expect from us?

We want to settle all complaints quickly. If you have contacted us with a complaint, there are two stages to our process.
Please make your complaint to the person dealing with the query. Many issues can be resolved with an explanation, action or apology.
If you aren’t satisfied, you can ask for your complaint to be escalated using our formal complaints procedure.

Complaints Proceedure

Stage 1 - Formal complaint

  • We aim to acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days telling you who will be dealing with your complaint.
  • Your complaint will be investigated fully by a supervisor or manager in the relevant service area.
  • We aim to provide a written response within 10 working days, either by email or letter.
  • If you are unsatisfied with the response you can ask that your complaint is escalated to Stage 2 - Appeal. Details of how to do this are included in your response letter.

Stage 2 – Complaint appeal

  • We aim to acknowledge your Stage 2 complaint appeal within 5 working days telling you who will be dealing with your complaint.
  • An Assistant Director or delegated manager who has not previously been involved in your case will review the details of your complaint.
  • We aim to provide a full written response explaining the outcome within 20 working days
  • In some circumstances this may take longer. If this is the case, then the assigned officer will notify you as to the expected timescale.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

If you are unsatisfied with the response to Stage 2 - complaint appeal then you have exhausted the complaints process. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman will consider your complaint independently from the Council. For more information, please visit www.lgo.org.uk or telephone 0300 061 0614.

What isn't covered by this procedure

Not all issues can be dealt with under this procedure such as complaints about:

Complaints regarding elected Members are dealt with by our Monitoring Officer who will investigate allegations of misconduct. How to contact.

Allegations of a criminal nature will not be dealt with under the council complaints policy. Should you wish to report a crime, please visit:www.westmercia.police.uk

For complaints about your Disabled Facilities Grant contact Millbrook Healthcare at https://millbrookhealthcare.co.uk/pages/worcestershire-promoting-independent-living-service

These are dealt with under different rules to the corporate complaints procedure. For further information and assistance please visit Benefit Appeals section of the website

Bdht will deal with complaints from their tenants.

Anyone in Bromsgrove private rented accommodation who is threatened with eviction should be directed to the bdht Housing Options Service.

Bdht also deal with complaints relating to the Housing Options and Homelessness Service that they carry out on behalf of the council. The complaint may be escalated, depending on the reason for the complaint.

If you live in private rented accommodation complaints will need to go to the Private Sector Housing Team.

If you are unhappy with the way that your job application to the council has been dealt with then please contact Human Resources

Worcestershire Regulatory Services have their own complaints procedure. For more information please visit Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS).

The complaints procedure would only be used if the resident complained that the council’s response was inadequate. For more information, and how to report, please visit Public Health and Nuisances

These are not covered by this policy. Please visit the Parking Fines page on our website.

If a planning application is refused by the Council the applicant may appeal to The Planning Inspectorate. For more information please visit the Planning Appeals page.

Please use the Public Access System - Simple Search if you would like to comment on a live planning application.

An initial request for a service will not be treated as a formal complaint. Please visit the relevant section of our website to make contact.

How to make a complaint

To register a complaint or compliment with us please complete our feedback form below

 

Compliments and Complaints Feedback Form

Policy Documentation

Bromsgrove District Council Complaints Procedure

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