Customer Service Charter and Standards

Oxfordshire County Council is committed to consistently delivering high standards of customer service and ensuring that all sectors of our community are able to access our services.

Our standards are constantly evolving to ensure that we meet changing customer needs and deliver the best experience possible at first point of contact.

It is easier to contact us digitally, however, whichever route you choose we will:

• Treat you as an individual, protect your personal information and treat you with dignity and respect. Information about how we use your data can be found in our privacy statement.
• Listen to you, respond to your needs, keep you informed and communicate clearly
• Answer your enquiry at the first point of contact, wherever possible. Where appropriate, we will put you in touch with other organisations for assistance.
• Provide easy-to-understand, useful and up-to-date service information in a clear format
• Give you options to access services by the method you prefer and acknowledge and accommodate any specific disability-related or translation requirements
• Ensure our staff are appropriately trained and competent to deliver our services

When you telephone us, we will

• Provide you with our name and department when answering the phone
• We aim to answer the phone as quickly as possible
• Ensure your call is directed to the person or team with the best skills to help you.
• Where necessary, pass your enquiry on to another department, ensuring that your details and the nature of your query will be passed on, so you do not have to repeat yourself.
• Continuously review the opening hours of the Customer Service Centre in order to respond to customer demand.

When you write to or email us, we will

• Respond to your email or online enquiry within 10 working days.
• Respond to your letter in full within 10 working days.
• Respond within 20 working days to requests managed under the Freedom of information Act
• Respond to Complaints within the Corporate or Statutory timescales
• Where we are unable to respond in full within the timescales stated above, we will advise you of this and provide details of when a full response will be provided.

When you use our website, we will

• Make it easy for you to find the information and services you want
• Have an accessible and usable website, with up-to-date information
• We will continually work to improve technology to enable you to make payments, complete forms and make bookings online.

When you visit us, we will

• Keep our core offices open and available to the public from 8.30am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am until 4pm Fridays.
• Greet you promptly on arrival.
• Ensure all reception areas are clearly signposted and include a seated waiting area for customers
• Aim to see you at the appointed time, if you have an appointment with us

When we visit you, we will

• Ensure that, where appropriate, we will have made an agreed prior appointment at a time and place, mutually suitable to you and us
• Aim to arrive promptly, however, if we are delayed, we will make contact with you as soon as possible to let you know.
• Ensure all staff wear their ID badge displaying the council logo, their name and department.

What we expect from you

• Please help us to help you by providing all the information we need to progress your enquiry
• Tell us when your personal circumstances have changed
• Promptly let us know if you need to cancel an appointment, so we can offer this to someone else
• Treat our staff with courtesy and respect. We operate a Zero Tolerance Policy and will not tolerate the use of physical or verbal violence in any form, including the use of foul and abusive language against our staff. In exceptional circumstances, when a person’s behaviour becomes unreasonable, then we may need to follow our Managing Unreasonable Behaviour Policy  

If we fail to meet your expectations, or you would like to provide us with feedback, please visit www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/customerfeedback  and submit our online form. All feedback will be responded to within 10 working days, if a response is required.