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Complaints

Castle Point Borough Council is committed to providing best value and the best possible level of service to its customers. Complaints are confidential. We will act on what you tell us, but will not identify you or the detail of the issue without your consent.

How do I complain about a Council Member?

Please visit the page Making a Complaint against a Member for details on how to make a complaint against a council member.

How do I complain about a Council Service?

We are committed to providing high quality services to people in the borough. We strive to succeed most of the time but there may be times when things go wrong and you feel dissatisfied. You may not be happy with a service we provide or with action or the lack of action. You have a right to tell us if something is wrong and can be improved. Your comments may well improve things for everyone.

You can:

Complaints procedure

This fact sheet tells you about our complaints procedure. The procedure makes sure we properly look into your complaint and give you a considered response.

Stage one

Talking with staff usually resolves things, so the first thing we ask you to do is to raise the matter with the staff concerned. You can telephone, write a letter or call at their office. We hope they will be able to put things right straight away, or explain why they can't.

Stage two

If you do not want to contact individual members of staff or are unhappy with their response, then you should contact the department responsible for that service. Our reception staff will help if you are not sure which department to contact. The chief officer for that service will make sure that the department investigates your complaint and responds to you in writing.

Stage three

If you have contacted the relevant department about your complaint and you are still not happy, the Council has an official Customer Complaint Procedure.

The procedure covers the way we, the Council, have done, or not done something. It relates to the services we directly provide.

Please contact us and request a complaints pack.

The Customer care Officer will investigate your complaint and write back to you with the outcome. If your complaint is justified, the Council will let you know how it intends to put matters right.

Putting things right

If we get something wrong, we will do our best to make amends. We will review our policy and procedures to try to stop it happening again. It is our policy to admit our mistakes and offer a full apology. We monitor complaints and we use this information to improve the way we deliver services.

What if I need help?

If there is anything which makes it difficult for you to let us know what you think, make suggestions or to pursue your complaint, for example if English is not your first language or you have a disability, please tell us how we might help you. Whether you need advice on filling in the forms or if you require information in large print, or other languages, please contact us.

If you are still not satisfied after the Council has fully investigated, you can refer your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. They may decide to investigate your complaint further. However the Ombudsman may ask that the Council's procedures are completed before carrying out their investigation.

Download a leaflet about the Local Government Ombudsman Service direct from the Local Government Ombudsman's web site. The leaflets are available in the following languages.

  • Bengali
  • Chinese
  • English
  • Greek
  • Gurjarati 
  • Hindi
  • Urdu
  • Punjabi
  • Vietnamese
  • Turkish