Making a complaint
The Customer Care and Complaints Procedure
For a Freedom of Information complaint
please follow this link
Introduction
Harlow Council has a complaints procedure to
help customers get their needs met in a fast, courteous, fair and
consistent manner. If you feel this has not been the case, the
procedure aims to reach a resolution as quickly as possible. We
take complaints seriously as they help us learn and enable us to
improve our services. At all stages we will ask you to state the
reasons why you are dissatisfied and how you feel the Council can
put things right.
How to Complain
You should complain to Contact Harlow at every
stage of the procedure by phone, letter, email, fax, through our
website or by calling in person. Please see contact details
below.
Stage One – Service
Manager
If you are unhappy with any service you have
received from Harlow Council, you should complain to Contact Harlow
who will pass your complaint to the Manager of the service you
originally dealt with. We will acknowledge your complaint within
two working days – this applies to all stages of the procedure. The
acknowledgement will give you a reference number, tell when you can
expect a full reply and who is dealing with the complaint.
A full response should be sent to you within a
maximum of 10 working days.
Stage Two – Head of
Service
If you are unhappy with our response at Stage
One, you should go back to Contact Harlow to start Stage Two of the
procedure. Your complaint will be passed to the Head of Service to
investigate. They have the authority to resolve most problems.
You should get a full response within a
maximum of 10 working days.
Stage Three - Appealing to the Chief
Executive/Chief Operating Officer
If you have been through the first two stages
and feel you have not been dealt with fairly and adequately, you
should approach Contact Harlow to start Stage Three (the final
stage) of the procedure. Your complaint will be sent to either the
Chief Executive or the Chief Operating Officer responsible for the
service to be reviewed. They may choose to look into it themselves,
or appoint a Head of Service or off-line senior manager to review
the complaint on their behalf. They will decide whether
to uphold your complaint and offer a final resolution or not uphold
your complaint and write to tell you the reasons why.
You should get a response within a maximum of
15 working days.
Extending time limits
In exceptional cases, we may extend the time
limit to a reasonable time period and will write to you giving
reasons why the timescale has been changed.
Further Information
If we cannot resolve your complaint you can
take it up with the Local Government Ombudsman They would expect
people contacting them to have made use of the Council’s
three-stage complaints procedure first, to get the problem resolved
locally.
At any stage you may refer your complaint to
your local Councillor or MP at their surgery, in writing or by
phone. They may help resolve your complaint however complaints from
Councillors and MP’s will be subject to the normal workings and
timescales of the procedure. Details of how to contact your
local Councillor or MP can be found on our website or by visiting
Contact Harlow or the Advice Centre.
Getting help with complaints or
appeals
If you would like someone to help with your
complaint or to speak on your behalf at an appeal, the Harlow
Welfare Rights and Advice Service or Citizens Advice Bureau may be
able to help.
In the matter of housing cases, you may wish
to appoint an advocate from the tenants and leaseholders group to
help. For further details please speak to a Customer
Advisor.
Useful Addresses
|
Advice Centre
2 East Gate,
Harlow
Essex
CM20 1ND
Telephone: 01279 446622
|
Citizens Advice Bureau
15-17 Westgate,
The High
Harlow, Essex,
CM20 1JP
Telephone: 01279 424400
|
Further Information
Click this
link for a full copy of the Complaints Policy
Complain online
Register your complaint on the Internet by completing our Online
Complaints form. We will tell you who will be dealing with your
complaint when we acknowledge receipt of your form.
Alternatively you can email your complaint to complaints@harlow.gov.uk