Your Comments and Complaints Count
If you have a comment about Canterbury City Council's services - whether it is good or bad - we would like to know.
What is the Comments and complaints scheme ?
We want to actively encourage you (our customers) to give us your opinions about any of our services. This can be in the form of any comment, compliment, complaint, suggestion or any other point of view.
Why are we interested in your opinion ?
We want to make sure our services meet the needs and wishes of the people who use them or are affected by them. This is why your views on our services are important and why we have introduced the Comments and complaints scheme to make it easier for you to let us know what you think of them.
If you are pleased with a service we provide or the way a member of staff has dealt with you, we would like to know.
If you are unhappy with the level of service received or in the way a member of staff has dealt with you; if you are upset about something we have done, or something you think we have not done; please let us know. Wherever possible we want to put things right quickly and if there is a problem we want to stop it happening again.
If you have an idea or suggestion that could help us improve our services, why not tell us?
Our commitment to providing quality services has been recognised by independent government inspectors who carried out an assessment of Canterbury City Council's services and declared us an 'excellent' council. To ensure that we continue to deliver an excellent service, we need your feedback.
- How can you tell us what you think?
- Can someone else help you with your Comment or complaint?
- What happens after you have given your opinion?
- Our complaints policy
- What can you do if you are dissatisfied with our reply?
- Further information
How can you tell us what you think?
You can give us your opinion in any of the following ways:
Online
In writing via post, fax or e-mail
If you want to send us your comment or complaint by post, fax or e-mail, you will need to include the following details:
- your name;*
- your address;*
- your telephone number;*
- your e-mail address;*
- name of the service you are commenting on (if known); and
- full details of your comment or complaint.
(*only if you require a reply from us)
Our address Canterbury City Council, Military Road, Canterbury CT1 1YW
Our fax number 01227 862 020
Our e-mail address customer.services@canterbury.gov.uk
By completing a Comments and complaint card
These are available at all of our offices, information centres, museums, galleries and libraries, and are already addressed and postage paid - all you have to do is fill it in and post it to us.
By phone (for comments on specific services) - 01227 862 000
Most of our departments have direct dial phone numbers. Our Contact Centre operators will either be able to help you directly, or transfer you to the correct person.
By phone (for general enquiries) - freephone 0800 035 1020
Call our freephone number if you have a general query, are unsure of who you should contact, or need advice before making any comment on our services.
By textphone - 01227 781 313.
In person
You can give us your comment or complaint in person at any of our offices:
- Canterbury - Military Road
- Herne Bay - William Street
- Whitstable - Harbour Street
Please go to reception and a member of staff will help you. If you want to talk to a particular person we suggest you ring them first.
Can someone else help you with your comment or complaint?
Yes. If you need advice or help completing the Comments and complaint leaflet, please ask any member of council staff - they will always be happy to help. Or you could ask a friend, relative, advisory organisation, your local councillor or Member of Parliament (MP) to help you make your views known.
If you would like to know who your local councillors are and how to contact them, please call our Comments and complaint freephone number on 0800 035 1020.
What happens after you've given your opinion?
Where a reply is needed we aim to provide a full reply within 14 days. If we are unable to do this, we will let you know who is dealing with it; their telephone number; when you can expect to receive a full reply; and we will keep you up-to-date with the latest progress.
If you have made a complaint, we will explain in our reply what you can do if you are not satisfied with the outcome. This is also explained in the 'what can you do if you're dissatisfied with the reply?' section.
All departments keep a record of the comments, compliments and complaints received and use them to look at the services provided to see if they can be improved. A summary of this information is also reported quarterly to the Strategic Management Team. The names and addresses of people who send us their views are not reported as all personal details are treated in the strictest confidence.
Data protection
To help us to improve our services, your comments and personal details will only be stored and used for purposes that are registered with the Data Protection Office.
For more information about your data protection rights, please call 01227 862 017.
Or for general information about the Data Protection Act 1998 and your rights visit www.ico.gov.uk
Our complaints policy
You can complain in exactly the same way as giving us any other point of view. Never be afraid to complain about something you are not happy with; it will not be held against you or affect how we deal with you in the future.
If you want to complain about a particular service or have any sort of problem, we suggest you raise it immediately with the person or service concerned. In this way simple mistakes or misunderstandings can often be sorted out straight away.
Some council services have special complaints procedures with their own time limits. If this is the case, we will let you know straight away what they are and what you need to do.
We take complaints seriously. If we have made a mistake we will apologise and put things right and if there's a problem, wherever possible we will take action to make sure it doesn't happen again.
What can you do if you are dissatisfied with our reply?
Stage one - the first time you tell us about your complaint
If you are unhappy with the reply you received please contact the person or service department who dealt with it.
The majority of queries are usually resolved at this stage. If you are not satisfied with their reply, you should contact them again, or ask for a review by the service department's Customer Relations Manager.
Stage two - review by Customer Relations Manager
The Customer Relations Manager will review your complaint by looking at:
- your original complaint
- how it was handled by our staff;
- the procedures followed; and
- the reply given.
The Customer Relations Manager will write to you when they have completed the review and tell you their conclusions. If you are still not satisfied with their reply you can refer your complaint back to the Customer Relations Manager.
Stage three - Local Government Ombudsman
The Local Government Ombudsman Service is an independent organisation. Its role is to investigate certain kinds of complaints about local councils. The Ombudsman will usually only consider a complaint after it has been through all stages of the council's complaints procedure. They will check before they start any investigation to make sure this has happened.
If you would like to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman Service, you must write to them.
For information about their complaints procedure and how to contact them, visit their website at www.lgo.org.uk or pick up a leaflet from the main reception points at any of our offices.
Further information
For more information about the Comments and complaints scheme, please call freephone on 0800 035 1020 or e-mail customer.services@canterbury.gov.uk
