Your views are important to us and we value feedback on our
services and welcome suggestions about how we can improve them. We
will act on customer feedback, whenever practicable, to help us
improve our services or efficiency and focus on the needs of our
customers.
If you are satisfied with a service we have provided, or with a
particular member of staff or team let us know. We will make sure
your compliments are passed on to the right person.
How do I give compliments, suggestions or feedback?
Follow this link for help with downloading and opening PDF files.
Making a complaint
We strive to provide the best possible service but things
can go wrong. When mistakes happen or you think our performance is
not satisfactory we want to know so that we can put things right
and prevent it from happening again.
What do we mean by a complaint?
A complaint is when you want to tell us that you are not
satisfied with our standard of service or with any action or lack
of action by us. You should make a complaint when:
- You think our service is not up to standard.
- You have not been treated politely.
- You think we have not followed the correct procedures.
- A service you have asked for has not been provided and we have
not given you a reasonable explanation.
- You are otherwise unhappy with us.
How do I make a complaint?
Step 1 - Contact us
If you have a problem get in touch with our Customer Services
Team who can help. Most problems can be resolved 'on the spot' but
for those that may take a little longer we will make sure you are
kept fully informed.
Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Melton Hill,
Woodbridge,
Suffolk IP12 1AU.
Step 2 - A formal complaint
We hope we can resolve your complaint by the first step.
If you are dissatisfied with our response you should contact us
and we will arrange for the relevant
head of
service to investigate your complaint. You should explain your
complaint and outline the steps taken so far to obtain
satisfaction.
You can use our
online complaints form or the form in our
complaints leaflet (new window PDF 50KB) to
help you do this. Alternatively you can telephone, write or
email us.
We will contact you within five working days and
investigate immediately. The head of service will normally reply to
you fully within 20 working days. It may take a bit longer if
the matter is complex or we need to contact other organisations. We
will keep you informed of what action is being taken.
If you would like independent advice to make a formal complaint,
you can get help from your local
Citizens
Advice Bureau.
You also have the right to complain to your local councillor. If
you do not know who he or she is, contact the Customer Services
Team on 01394 383789 or
search our councillor webpages.
If you complain to your local councillor, he or she may contact
the officer concerned on your behalf. You will then receive a
reply from the Head of Service, telling you what action will be
taken. Your local councillor will get a copy of the same
letter.
Step 3 - Taking your complaint further
If having taken steps 1 and 2 you are still not satisfied, you
can ask for your complaint to be dealt with by the Council's
Chief
Executive who will carry out an independent investigation
and tell you the outcome within 28 working days.
Step 4 - The Local Government Ombudsman
You may also take your complaint to the Local Government
Ombudsman, who works independently of the Council. However the
Ombudsman will usually expect you to try to get your complaint
settled by the Council first. Any complaint to the Ombudsman must
involve more than a disagreement with the Council and needs to show
that something went wrong and an injustice was caused. Follow this
link for more information on how to complain to the
Local Government
Ombudsman (new window).
If you would like any further information about our complaints
system or would like assistance to make a complaint please contact
the Customer Services Team.