Making a complaint

Wiltshire Council's complaints procedure (opens new window) sets out how most complaints submitted to the council will be dealt with.

Sometimes issues can be fixed without needing to make a formal complaint. You may find using a different route will provide you with a quicker resolution. A list of service requests, and links to more information, can be found on the Complaints, compliments and suggestions page.

To make a complaint you can:

• use the Complaint, compliment and suggestion form
• contact the service team directly
• Contact Complaints Team

If you need support to contact us, we can help you do this.

When you contact us, please provide as much information as possible, including the names of any officers you have already spoken to about the matter and any reference number you have relating to it.

It is easier for us to look into a complaint if you contact us as soon as possible. When a complaint is older than 12 months it is more difficult to get all the facts. If we cannot investigate the complaint for any reason we will contact you to explain why.

Stage one

When you first make a complaint we will acknowledge it within five working days.

The relevant service team will consider your complaint and provide a response. They understand the issues involved and have the opportunity of addressing concerns as quickly as possible. We will tell you who will be responsible for coordinating the response responding to the complaint and we will provide you with their contact details.

We aim to respond to complaints at Stage one within 10 working days. We may extend this by a further 10 working days if more time is needed, but we will tell you if we do so.

Stage two

Most complaints can be sorted at Stage one of the complaints procedure but if you are not happy with our response at stage one, you can ask for the complaint to be progress to stage two by contacting the complaints team.

At stage two a complaints officer will carry out independent review of your complaint and provide a further response.

We aim to respond to complaints at Stage two within 20 working days. We may extend this by a further 20 working days if more time is needed, but we will tell you if we do so.

Ombudsmen

If you remain dissatisfied following the council's response you get at stage two, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO): How to Complain (opens new window) to investigate your complaint further.

The LGSCO is independent and the service is free and confidential. However, the Ombudsman will not normally investigate your complaint until the council's complaints procedure has been completed.

If your complaint relates to the council's functions as a housing landlord, the appropriate ombudsman may be the Housing Ombudsman. You can find details of what falls within the remit of the  Housing ombudsman service: Which ombudsman for social housing complaints? (opens new window). As a landlord member of the Housing Ombudsman, Wiltshire Council abides by its Housing Ombudsman Service: Complaint Handling Code (opens new window).

In your stage two response you will be provided the details for the appropriate Ombudsman to contact should you remain dissatisfied.

Complaints that cannot be considered under the complaints procedure

Sometimes you will not be able to complain; here are some of the complaints we cannot consider (this list is not exhaustive):

• complaints from organisations where there is a contract governing the relationship between the council and the complainant (for example, contractors)
• complaints by one part of the council or its affiliate organisations against another (e.g. community area boards, maintained schools, governing bodies)
• complaints about an elected or co-opted member (councillor). There is a separate Complaints, compliments and suggestions process for this
• any matter that should be considered by a court, statutory tribunal or statutory appeals process
• if there are; or have been, legal proceedings in connection with the complaint, including proceedings taken by the council
• a complaint about school management issues - these are dealt with under the school's own procedures
• complaints about council policy, such as the level of council tax, how eligibility criteria are set, or the prioritisation of works

If you are not sure whether we can consider your complaint please use the Contact Complaints Team page and contact use for advice.

If we cannot consider your complaint we will try to advise you of other appropriate routes available to you.

Further advice and contacts

We have put together a Complaints advice and support page which lists organisations that might be able to help you by providing further advice and support, depending on the nature of your complaint.

Contact Complaints Team if you are unsure who to speak to or want some general advice.