Making a complaint

We want to provide you with the best possible service. However, we do recognise that at times, things can go wrong and you may want to complain. If you do complain, we will do our best to sort the problem.

First of all, please contact our customer services team, who may be able to help with one off issues.

After contacting customer services, if you feel that your complaint is still unresolved, we have a procedure in place that sets out what we will do if you would like your complaint to be investigated further. You can see more details in our complaints procedure below.

What we consider to be a complaint

We define a complaint as being 'an expression of dissatisfaction that requires a response about the standard of service, action taken or lack of action by the council'.

There may be times when you are unhappy with decisions made that sit within other procedures that we would not consider a complaint. If this is the case, we will explain why.

Services we are not responsible for

We are not responsible for all local services. For example, Hampshire County Council is responsible for adult and children's services, education and learning, waste/recycling centres, highways and trading standards. Housing associations, including VIVID, are responsible for many homes and housing estates in Aldershot and Farnborough. Where possible, we will provide information or a contact.

Complaints about councillors

Councillors work within a code of conduct. If you want to complain about a councillor, you will find more details about how to do so on our complaints against a councillor webpage.

Treating you fairly

We aim to treat everyone fairly and equally, regardless of their personal circumstances. We want to make sure that we promote equality in everything we do and are committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

Where necessary, we can provide a translation or interpretation service on request. We can also provide our complaints procedure in large print, audio or Braille. To ask for these, please contact our customer services team using the contact details below.

Our complaints procedure

There are two stages to our complaints procedure. We aim to sort out your complaint as soon and as easily as possible, at stage one.

Stage one

Within three working days of receiving your complaint

• We will let you know we've received your complaint and give you the name of the manager who will be dealing with it

Within ten working days of receiving your complaint

• The service manager will respond to your complaint in writing
• If we need longer to investigate your complaint, we will tell you why and when you can expect a response

Stage two

If you are unhappy with the response you received at stage one, please let us know. You should do this in writing to the manager who dealt with your original complaint, setting out why you are still unhappy with the response.

The manager will pass all your correspondence to the head of service, who will review your initial complaint, our response and any more information you have provided.

We will reply in writing to you within 20 working days. This response will include details of what you can do next if you are still not happy with the outcome. If we need longer to investigate your complaint, we will tell you why and when we expect to respond.