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You are here: Home > Contact us > Complaints


Complaints

At South Northamptonshire Council we aim to provide a high quality, efficient and courteous service to our customers. We may not be able to give you the outcome you want, but we will always try to treat you properly. If we fail to provide the service, we will endeavour to rectify the problem and apologise.

Should you wish to complain about the way you have been treated or wish to comment about our services please read the below carefully and then either email us, phone us on 0845 230 0226 or 01327 322322, use our customer care form, or write to us at:

South Northamptonshire Council
Springfields
Towcester
Northants
NN12 6AE

How to make a complaint

There are a number of steps to take when making a complaint. In the first instance you should raise your complaint with the officer you have been in contact with. If you are not satisfied with their response, you should then raise your concerns with the Head of Service who will investigate your complaint further. If you are still unhappy with the response you receive at this stage, your complaint will then be forwarded to the Chief Executive to investigate.

How quickly will the Council respond to my request?

When making your initial complaint we will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days. We will provide a full response or details of the steps we are taking to investigate your complaint, within 10 working days.

What happens if you are not satisfied with the Council's response to a complaint once it has been through the stages oulined above?

If, when the Council's complaints procedure is completed, you are still not satisfied with the way the Council has investigated your complaint or the outcome, you can pursue the matter further through the Local Government Ombudsman. If you wish you can contact the Ombudsman before the Council has considered your complaint and the Ombudsman may choose to investigate at this stage. Please contact us and we will send you the appropriate booklet and form to enable you to do this. Alternatively, the free booklet explaining the Local Government Ombudsman service is available from the Ombudsman website.

You can contact the Local Government Ombudsman at the following address:

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH

Telephone: 0845 602 1983 or 024 7682 1960


Your local Councillor

You may also contact a local Councillor about any concerns you may have. They will take the matter up on your behalf with the appropriate officer at the Council.

For information about your local Councillor contact 0845 230 0226 or 01327 322322 or visit the elected representatives area of this website.

If you wish to complain about the conduct of a Councillor of South Northamptonshrie Council or one of the Town or Parish Councils in the district, you should write to:

Kevin Lane

Monitoring Officer

Standards Committee

South Northamptonshire Council

Springfields

Towcester

NN12 6AE

Email: kevin.lane@southnorthants.gov.uk

Your complaint will be referred to our Standards Committee who may decide that your complaint should be investigated. The complaint must relate to an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct otherwise it cannot be referred to the Standards Committee. You can find our Code of Conduct here.

A complaint form is available on request.


Related links
  • Councillors
  • Local Government Ombudsman
  • Standards Board for England
  • Information about this website
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Page last updated: 21-Nov-2008