Comments, Complaints and Compliments FAQs

You can make a comment or give us a compliment if you:

• have ideas on how we can improve our services
• want to comment on our policies
• want to let us know what you think about our services
• want to let us know if you are satisfied with a service or a particular member of staff.

• If you have a comment or suggestion we will carefully consider what you have said and see if we can improve the service we provide
• We will tell you in writing within 10 working days what we have decided
• If you have a compliment for us, we will pass it on to the person or service involved.

A complaint is when you tell us you are not happy; for example if:

• you think you have been treated unfairly or impolitely
• we have not done something we should have done
• we have done something badly, or in the wrong way

We deal with complaints in two stages covered in our complaints policy.

Stage one

We will try to deal with your complaint informally.

You can make a comment, complaint or compliment by contacting us:

• using the Complaints online form
• by phone on 020 8207 2277
• by letter; or
• by email on customer.services@hertsmere.gov.uk
  We will do our best to settle your complaint without you needing to do anything else.
• The complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt, and a written response provided within the following 10 working days (Up to 15 days working days in total).

If we cannot sort out your complaint within 15 working days, we will write to you and let you know:

• when you can expect an answer from us, advising of an extension of up to 10 working days
• the name of the person who is dealing with your complaint.

By law, we need to deal with some complaints in a different way. If so, we will tell you and give you more information.

Stage two

If, after stage one, you are still not happy, the next step is for you to make a formal complaint. To do this you will need to put your complaint in writing to the Complaints Officer by email to complaints@hertsmere.gov.uk or write to:

Complaints
Hertsmere Borough Council
Civic Offices
Elstree Way
Borehamwood
WD6 1WA

A request to escalate to stage 2 should be made within 90 days of the stage 1 response. It is helpful if the complainant explains why the complaint is not resolved to their satisfaction at stage 1. Stage 2 is the final response stage. The complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt, and a written response provided to the complainant within the following 20 working days (Up to 25 working days in total).

The review of the complaint will not be carried out by the same officer who considered the complaint at stage 1.

If an extension is required due to the complexity of the complaint the reason will be explained. The extension will not exceed 20 days.

There are a small number of people who pursue their complaints in a way that can prevent proper investigation of their complaint or other peoples, or who refuse to accept the determination of their complaint.

These cases require the council to commit significant and inappropriate levels of resource to investigating the complaint.

We refer to such complainant’s behaviour as ‘unreasonable’ and, exceptionally, will take action to limit their contact with the council and its staff.

We hope that we can solve your problem, but if you have followed our complaints procedure and are still not happy, you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman's office at:

Local Government Ombudsman

PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH

Telephone: 0300 061 0614

Website: www.lgo.org.uk

You can get leaflets about how to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman from any of our offices.

You could also ask a friend or relative for help, or contact an independent person or organisation, for example:

• your local councillor
• your MP
• a solicitor
• Citizens Advice Bureau

Contact us - our details are listed below, or report online using

Report Missed Collection form

.

If you are requesting information under the

Data Protection Act or Freedom of Information Act

, you should do this in writing to the Information Officer at our address below or request online using the

Freedom of Information

form.

You should do this in writing to Parking Services at our address below, or emailing cpz@hertsmere.gov.uk.

You can write to the

Standards Committee

.