Corporate complaints policy - Definitions
Published: 21 October 2025
Complaint
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the Council, its own staff or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual or group of individuals.
Examples of complaints*:
- An unwelcome or disputed decision made by the Council
- Concern about the quality or appropriateness of a Council-provided service
- Delivery or non-delivery of Council services
- Quantity, frequency, change or cost of a Council service
- Attitude or behaviour of Council staff
- Poor or lack of communication by the Council
(*These are examples of the types of complaint that we investigate but it is not an exhaustive list)
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who has been appointed to look into complaints about companies and organisations.
Ombudsman schemes are independent, free and impartial – this means they don't take sides.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigates complaints regarding local authorities and certain other bodies.
MyAccount
MyAccount is your personal Council account that gives you free 24-hour access to Council services. You can use MyAccount to:
- register a complaint, compliment or comment
- report, request or book other Council services such as: report a fly-tip, request a bigger bin or book a bulky waste collection
Service request
A service request is a request that the Council provides or improves a service, fixes a problem or reconsiders a decision.
A service request is not a complaint, but it may contain expressions of dissatisfaction. The Council should have the opportunity to deal with a service request before a complaint is made.
A complaint may be raised when an individual expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request, even if the handling of the service request remains ongoing.
We will not stop our efforts to address the service request if an individual complains