main content Complaints, comments and suggestions

Getting it Right at Bromley Council

We want to provide good quality services, in a helpful and efficient way, but sometimes things can go wrong. If they do, we need to know so we can put mistakes right quickly and learn from them. Your suggestions and compliments are also important to us - they help us to improve our services, so please let us know your views. This page explains how you can complain, comment or make a suggestion about a Council service

Fairness

We value all the people who live and work in Bromley. We aim to provide our services fairly to all members of the community. If part of your feedback is about equal opportunities or discrimination, please tell us. We will make sure that we look into that for you. We will not treat you unfavourably because you have made a complaint about us.

What should you do if you are unhappy with one of our services?

If you are unhappy with how we have dealt with your situation you can make a complaint. First of all get in touch with the department concerned. If you prefer, you could contact us by letter or email, telephone, or call in to our offices (although it may be necessary to have an appointment if you want to see a particular officer). 

If you need any help, please ask a member of staff. You may also want to ask a voluntary agency, a friend or relative or your local councillor for support. If you do not know who your local councillors are, you can check the link above, ring 020 8313 4366 or ask at any Council enquiry point or library for their contact details.

What will we do?

Your complaint will usually be investigated by the manager responsible for providing the service. They will try to sort out any problem as quickly as possible - mistakes and misunderstandings can often be sorted out on the spot. If not we aim to respond to complaints within five working days. If the issue is very complicated, we may need longer and will aim to reply within 20 working days, but we will let you know if that is the case.

If you are unhappy with this response, you can tell the Chief Officer of the department who will either investigate your complaint personally or will nominate a senior officer to carry out the investigation.

If you are still unhappy with this reply, you can appeal to the Chief Executive, who will review the complaint.

And if it's a compliment or suggestion?

We will record the compliment and thank you for letting us know we have done well. The Chief Officer or line manager will thank the officer concerned. Your compliment will be used when we next plan our services.

We will thank you for sending in a suggestion and let you know what we have done in response. If it's not possible to carry out your suggestion, we will let you know why.

Local Government Ombudsman

The Local Government Ombudsman investigates complaints about councils. He investigates complaints about most council matters including planning, education and social services. It is an independent, impartial and free service. You can complain to the Ombudsman at any time, but he will usually ask the Council to investigate the matter first if it has not already gone through our complaints procedure. You can write to the Ombudsman or ring them direct. Our enquiry desks and libraries have copies of the leaflet "How to complain to the Local Ombudsman".

But, before you approach the Ombudsman, please speak to us first and give us a chance to put things right!

Other procedures

We do not use the procedure set out above to deal with all complaints. There are special arrangements and a different form for complaints about Social Services and there is also a separate procedure for complaints about schools. We would not normally deal with a complaint under the 'Getting it Right' procedure if it is being dealt with or was previously dealt with by legal proceedings. In addition, some complaints have their own appeals procedures - for example, disputes over parking tickets, planning applications and housing benefit. We will be able to advise you on the correct procedure or appeals process.

Complaint about a councillor?

We want you to feel confident in our open and honest system of local governance and that our councillors live up to the high standards the public expects of them. If you feel a councillor's behaviour may have fallen short of the required standards, please let us know.

Raising concerns

We have a confidential reporting policy ‘Raising Concerns’ which can be used by employees and those working for the Council on Council premises as contractors, who are concerned that there may be something seriously wrong happening within the Council. Examples include breaches of the law, possible fraud and corruption, sexual, physical, verbal or financial abuse of clients.

These may not be covered by our ‘Getting It Right’ complaints, comments or suggestions procedure that seeks feedback on our services.

Further information

If you have any queries about these processes or need any assistance in taking your concerns further, please contact the Democratic Services Team who can give you further guidance or help.

Contact

Democratic Services Team
Telephone: 020 8313 4704
E-mail: corporate.complaints@bromley.gov.uk