Unreasonable, unreasonably persistent and vexatious complaints procedure and guidance - 1. Purpose

Walsall Council aims to provide high quality services for all customers.  However, sometimes services may not meet expectations, and customers have the right to complain.

Customers and / or their advocates should utilise the established procedures when raising a complaint or concern.  These procedures are detailed in the Corporate Complaints Policy.  Following the correct procedure ensures a consistency in how the council deals with complaints and helps manage customer expectations. 

This document explains how the Council manages behaviour that is unreasonable, persistently unreasonable, or vexatious. The aim is not to stop people from making genuine complaints or accessing services, but to protect staff and ensure complaint-handling resources are used fairly.

This procedure follows guidance from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and applies to all Council services.

This procedure covers all complaints made to the Council about Council services including those related to Freedom of Information, Environmental Information and requests made under the Data Protection Act.  It covers both corporate and statutory complaints. There is a specific process for complaints about Elected Members that is managed by the Monitoring Officer but if behaviour becomes unreasonable, this procedure may also apply.