We aim to give an excellent service to all our customers. If we get things wrong, we want to try to put them right and learn from our mistakes to help improve services for the future.
What is a complaint?
The complaints procedure should be used if there has been a persistent service failure or you wish to report:
-
A poor quality service
-
The attitude or behaviour of a member of our staff
-
A failure to follow Council policies or procedures
-
Concerns about alleged fraud or corruption
The first time you make a request for a service (for example, a missed bin collection) would not be treated as a complaint – this would need to be reported to the service responsible, who would deal with this in line with normal service delivery.
For more information, please see our complaints policy.
What is not a complaint?
Our complaints procedure does not cover complaints about matters which are covered by a separate appeal or review procedure, such as:
How can I raise a complaint?
There are two levels in Waverley's complaints procedure.
Level 1
As a first step it is usually best to contact a member of staff in the responsible service who may be able to resolve the problem, if not immediately, then within a very short time.
Contact us online
If this does not resolve the issue, you can raise a complaint:
Log a corporate complaint
Level 2
If you are not happy with the result of your first approach, you can write or send an email to the Executive Head of Service who manages the service you are complaining about.
Details of how to do this and who to contact will be made available to you in the outcome of your Level 1 complaint.
How quickly will I receive a response?
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days of receiving it.
Level 1 complaints
We aim to send you a detailed response within 10 working days.
Level 2 complaints
We aim to send you a detailed response within 15 working days.
If there is a delay, for example where the matter is complicated, we will send you a progress report and say when we expect to be able to respond.
What do I do if I am still unhappy?
If you remain unhappy after completing Level 2 of Waverley's complaints procedure, you can take your complaint to an ombudsman.
If you are a tenant or leaseholder of Waverley and your complaint concerns a housing matter: You can raise your concerns directly with the Housing Ombudsman. More details can be found on the Housing Ombudsman’s website.
If your complaint concerns a matter other than housing: You can take your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. This is a free service. Call the Ombudsman’s Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or visit the Ombudsman's website for more information.
Please note that before raising your concerns with either the Housing Ombudsman or the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, you should give Waverley a chance to resolve your complaint and complete our complaints process.