Tell us what you think
Timescales
Appeal
The role of the Local Government Ombudsman
Bolton Council is committed to putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. This means providing the best possible service to residents, businesses and visitors of Bolton.
In the event that you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, we do want to hear from you as this allows us the opportunity to investigate your concerns and to provide a full explanation.
Concerns relating to Adult Social Care are dealt with separately in accordance with the Adult and Community Services policy and appropriate legislation. Please see the Adult Social Care Complaints webpage for further details.
There are various ways that you can let us know about your issues and comments and we would ask you to contact us.
Please refer to the contact details tab at the top of this page for our contact details or use the online form. You can also view our full complaints policy on customer service by using the link on the right
A customer has a complaint if they are unhappy with the standard of a service or if they feel that they have been treated unfairly or discourteously by the Council or a person or body acting on behalf of the Council.
We treat all complaints very seriously and in the strictest confidence. We will undertake to ensure that a full investigation is carried out on any formal complaint received.
Our complaints procedure ensures that customers receive:
- An acknowledgement of their complaint
- Updates about the complaints investigation and will receive a final response
- The opportunity to review and appeal against this response
- Are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the complaint and its handling which will be used by us to learn from
Timescales
Complaints to the Council should be made within a reasonable time frame of the event which caused the complaint to occur. In most cases 12 months is regarded as the appropriate limitation period.
- All written complaints will be acknowledged within five working days (24 hours for emails)
- A full response will be provided within 14 calendar days
- If we are unable to reply within 14 days, we will contact you and let you know the reason why and tell you when you can expect a full response
- Due to the complexity and sensitivity around Adult Social Care, timescales are agreed on a individual basis between the customer and the Adult Customer Relations Team. Our aim at all times is however to deal with any matter quickly and effectively
Appeal
In the event that you are not satisfied with the response, you can write to the Chief Executive within 28 calendar days. At this stage the complaint will be reviewed by the Departmental Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Departmental Director.
The role of the Local Government Ombudsman
The Local Government Ombudsman is an independent body whose purpose is to provide independent, impartial and prompt investigation and resolution of complaints of injustice through maladministration by Local Authorities.
Customers can contact the Ombudsman if they believe that their complaint has been handled badly or unfairly, causing someone to suffer as a result.
This would include:
- Unreasonable delay in response
- Rudeness
- Failure to follow proper procedures
- Bias
- Knowingly giving advice which is misleading or inadequate and
- Refusing to answer reasonable questions
- The Local Government Ombudsman cannot question a Council’s decision but will look at the effect of the decision on the complainant to see whether it has caused any injustice.
You can contact the local ombudsman using the contact details below:
Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Tel: 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983
Email: advice@lgo.org.uk
Fax: 024 7682 0001
Text: ‘call back’ to 0762 480 4299