Most of us are quite good at complaining about things we can't change. But what about those things your council can do something about? It's easy enough to say it out loud, but have you ever made a proper complaint?
Your local councils take pride in providing good value, high-quality services for you. But things aren't always perfect, and we want to know about it.
Actually it's really easy. You can make a complaint online, but you can just as easily write a letter or simply phone us.
We want to hear when our service isn't up to scratch - all you have to do is let us know.
It's your voice. Use it.
Most of us are quite good at complaining about things we can't change. But what about those things your council can do something about? It's easy enough to say it out loud, but have you ever made a proper complaint?
Your local councils take pride in providing good value, high-quality services for you. But things aren't always perfect, and we want to know about it.
Actually it's really easy. You can make a complaint online, but you can just as easily write a letter or simply phone us.
We want to hear when our service isn't up to scratch - all you have to do is let us know.
It's your voice. Use it.
Make a complaint
If you're unhappy with the way the council has responded to your concerns, you can make a complaint.
keep you informed of progress at each stage of the investigation
investigate all your complaints thoroughly, fairly and confidentially
give you clear time-scales and deadlines for a response
try to put things right.
If we cannot review your complaint under our policy, we will explain why we cannot do so and inform you of an alternative means of appeal, if appropriate.
The process for dealing with complaints is divided into two stages - initial and further review. The council tries to ensure that complaints are resolved as quickly as possible.
Initial review
An appropriate council officer will be appointed to investigate your complaint.
Further review
A senior manager, ideally in the relevant service or directorate, will provide an additional review of the complaint by looking anew at the main issues and also whether the initial review sufficiently investigated them.
If you are still not satisfied
If, after having gone through the council's formal complaints process, you are not satisfied you can ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate.
The Local Government Ombudsman is independent of the council and investigates allegations of maladministration causing injustice to the person who has complained. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about most council matters including housing, planning, education, social services, and Council Tax.
The Ombudsman who deals with Oxfordshire is at:
Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Tel: 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983 advice@lgo.org.uk
Fax: 024 7682 0001
Text 'call back' to 0762 480 4299
Full details on how to complain about the council can be found on the Ombudsman's website.
If you need further advice before making your complaint to the Ombudsman, or help with completing the form, you can ring the Local Government Ombudsman's Adviceline on 0845 602 1983.
The Ombudsman's Annual Letter
Each year, the Local Government Ombudsman issues an annual review in which he sets out the number of complaints he has dealt with concerning the county council and summarises the outcome in each case. The annual reviews are useful in learning lessons about the council's performance and complaint handling arrangements.
Click here to use Read Aloud by Insipio. Page reloads with controls for text to speech.
Click to go to the Easy read section. Note: this section doesn't have this menu. Use the back button or click the Oxfordshire County Council logo link in the header to return.
Print
Feedback
