Complaints procedure

Please read the information below before you continue.

We know that some people lack confidence in their ability to write, or get their concerns across. As a result, they worry that they are not going to be understood or taken seriously, so many are turning to AI to help them present their concerns.

However AI can cause its own problems, because it:

• can make mistakes
• makes problems much larger and complex than they need to be
• can introduce facts that are not correct
• can refer to laws and regulations that do not exist, or misinterpret those that do
• makes everyone sound the same, so any personal element is lost
• can mask people’s vulnerabilities

In some cases people have not understood their complaint response because the genuine concerns in their complaint got lost in the AI-assisted version.

Which way is best?

We much prefer to hear from our residents and service users directly, in their own words, about how they have been affected. Complaints written in simple, clear terms will always be quicker and easier to understand, and therefore to reply to. If we’re not clear what you mean, we’ll get in touch to ensure we understand what the problem is. All complaints are considered equally on merit, however they are written or submitted.

If you need help, or aren’t sure about something, email us on corporate.complaints@bromley.gov.uk and one of our expert Complaints team will get back to you.

If you do want to use AI to support you please bear the following in mind:

• It’s your complaint, so it’s important you read it through carefully to ensure it is accurate before you submit it to us
• Focus on you and your experiences, and the impact they had on you
• By using an AI tool generally available over the internet, you may be sharing sensitive personal information which might be used to train that AI system and/or be processed overseas
• Consider using one of the suggested prompts in the section below
• If we receive an AI-assisted complaint (or subsequent related correspondence) that is overly long or complex, we may ask you to resubmit it in a different form, or we may decide it is appropriate to produce a concise statement of complaint for you to approve

Please note that if we need more time to understand an AI-assisted complaint or related correspondence, the formal procedure and timescale will not commence until we are content we have done so.

Suggested prompts

1. I need to clearly explain what happened on [date] when [describe the situation]. Here are the details: [provide all the facts and circumstances]. Help me organise these into a clear structure that shows what happened first, second, third and so on. Only use the information I have provided.
    
2. I need help organising this information about what the organisation did wrong: [list all the specific issues]. Please help me put this into clear sentences. Focus on the facts of what actually happened, do not make any assumptions or include any legal references or arguments.
    
3. Help me describe what happened in simple, clear language: [describe each issue in detail, including who was involved, what they said or did, and when it happened]. Help me express this clearly while keeping it in my own voice.
    
4. Help me explain how this affected my daily life and how it made me feel. Here's what happened to me: [describe specific impacts on your health, work, family, finances or emotions. Explain how long problems lasted, what you couldn’t do and any on-going effects]. Make sure each impact is connected to what went wrong.
    
5. Rewrite the text below as a clear, polite complaint. Use only the information I have provided. Do not add or invent new facts. Be concise and professional, but not too formal or legal. Include a closing paragraph suggesting how I would like the complaint to be resolved.