Definition of a Complaint

A complaint is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction with regards to:

• The standard of service, or
• Action or lack of action taken by the Council, or
• Decision(s) taken by the Council, or
• The way in which the Council’s staff or representatives carry out their duties

Registering a Complaint

With a few notable exceptions (please see below), your complaint will be dealt with according to our customer complaint handling procedure.

The information you provide may be passed to other departments within the Council to help us sort out your problem, but it is treated as confidential at all times.

The Procedure

Our complaints handling procedure is in three stages:

Stage 1 - Local Resolution

Initially, you should complain directly to the people who are responsible for the service(s) you are not satisfied with, either in person, by phone, in writing or by e-mail.

Alternatively, you can contact the Customer Services Team at Swindon Direct by completing our Customer Services Online Feedback Form.

Stage 2 - Referral to Service Area Director

If you are not happy with the response you receive, you can ask to have the matter investigated by the director responsible for the service concerned.

Again, you can register your complaint by completing our Customer Services Online Feedback Form.

You can also do this in person, by phone, in writing or by e-mail.

Stage 3 - Referral to the Chief Executive

If you have been through stages 1 and 2 (above) and are still not satisfied, you can appeal in writing to:

The Chief Executive
Swindon Borough Council
Civic Offices
Euclid Street
Swindon
SN1 2JH

If your complaint is still not resolved using this process, then you can take it further (please see below).

Exceptions to Normal Procedures

The exceptions to our normal complaints handling procedures are:

Adult Social Care: This uses a statutory complaint process, which is separate to that used for all other council services. Should you wish to make a complaint please visit the Your Comments Count page.

Children’s Social Care: For children’s social care a statutory complaint process is used. This is separate to that used for all other council services. Should you wish to make a complaint please visit the Advice for Young People page.

Education: All Schools have their own complaints procedure and you should start the process by contacting the Head Teacher of the school to register the complaint.

Our Commitment

We make a commitment to you, that we will deal with your complaints promptly, fairly and in line with our commitment to equal opportunities.

If You Need Help Writing

If you need help with writing the letter, please telephone the Customer Services Team at Swindon Direct on 01793 445500.

Taking a Complaint Further

If, having exhausted the routes of appeal within our customer complaints handling procedures you are still not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Local Government Ombudsman for an independent review of your complaint.

Corporate Customer Feedback Policy

Our policy is available as a downloadable PDF file:

Corporate Customer Feedback Policy (49Kb)

Printed Leaflet

Our complaints handling procedure is explained in a printed leaflet, which is available as a downloadable PDF file:

Complaints, Compliments and Comments (594Kb)

Customer Complaints Satisfaction Survey

If you have recently raised a complaint with the Council we are keen to hear what you think about the service you received in the handling of this complaint.

We value your opinion and intend to use the completed survey to review the service we provide and make improvements wherever possible:

Customer Satisfaction Survey: Complaints