Contents

 

Receipt of Complaint

All initial complaints received by phone, email, fax or in person will be dealt with at Stage 1 of the Council’s complaint procedure.

 

Stage 1

The first stage of our complaints procedure.

Acknowledgement letter

An acknowledgement letter will be sent to you within 5 calendar days of receiving a complaint. This letter will give you the name of the Manager investigating your complaint and the date that you should receive your response.

Stage 1 Response

How the process works

A Stage 1 response will be sent to you once all investigations are complete. The response will give you an overview of your complaint and will provide you with a full response of the findings from the investigation.  Complaints should be responded to within 28 calendar days from the date it is received. If this timescale cannot be met a pending letter will be sent.  This should be sent at the time at which the need for extension is identified, giving a new response date and clearly stating the reason(s) for the delay. Enclosed with the Stage 1 Response will be an Equalities form and a Customer Satisfaction form.  

What you can expect in your response

A balanced approach will be taken to handle your complaint providing both an account of what happened and, where appropriate, actions taken.  The response will be focused on the specific issues raised by you.  In particular:

  • Where there has been a service failing a clear apology and account of corrective actions taken (or that will be taken) will be provided with associated time frames.

  • If you are dissatisfied due to your expectations being greater than the agreed standards and/or entitlement for service delivery this will be clearly explained.  You will be assured that the information provided within your complaint will be used to assist the Council to identify future priorities and relevant opportunities for further involvement in service planning and consultation will be offered where appropriate.

  • An offer to contact the service manager for further discussion, where you are satisfied with the response but have further queries or are undecided as to whether to escalate the complaint to Stage 2.

  • Advice on how to escalate the complaint to Stage 2.

Why we take this approach:

It is important that the quality of all Stage 1 responses are excellent, so as to satisfy as many customers as possible, and to ensure that a recourse to Stage 2 complaints is not required.

Positive Feedback

Suggestions/compliments

 

Stage 2

If you are not satisfied with the response to t your complaint, then you may request from the Council’s Chief Executive, via the Corporate Complaints Team, a review of the Service Area’s findings and actions.   This can be done by writing:

The Corporate Complaints Team,
Waltham Forest Town Hall,
Forest Road,
E17 4JF

Acknowledgement letter

An acknowledgement letter will be sent within 5 calendar days of receiving a complaint. This letter will give the name of the Complaints Investigation Officer dealing with your complaint and the date that the customer should receive their response.

Stage 2 Response

The Stage 2 response will be sent to you by the Complaints Investigation Officer after all investigations have been completed, including a review of work undertaken through Stage 1. The response will give an overview of your complaint and will provide you with a full response of the investigating officer’s findings and recommended actions. Complaints should be responded to within 35 calendar days from the date it is received. If this timescale cannot be met due to the nature of the complaint a pending letter will be sent giving a new response date. Enclosed with the Stage 2 Response will be an Equalities form and a Customer Satisfaction form.

The approach taken to acknowledge, investigate and respond to your complaint reflects the requirements of the Stage 1 complaint but this work is led by the Corporate Complaints team, thus offering a review, which is external to the service area(s), which are the subject of the complaint.

 

Local Government Ombudsman

If you are not satisfied with the response from the Complaints Investigation Officer you may refer your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is independent and will investigate all claims of maladministration (i.e. delay, procedures not being followed or unfair treatment). The Ombudsman will not investigate if the complaint has not gone through the Council’s complaint procedure or if an appeal is taking place.

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