How to complain about our services

Our aim is to provide a quality service to you, our customer. We do our best to maintain high standards and, hopefully, you will never have cause to complain. But occasionally things can go wrong. When they do we want to know so that we can put things right as soon as possible.

To help us resolve any problems, we have a procedure which ensures all complaints are dealt with fairly and thoroughly.

If you have a complaint the following procedure applies:

1. It is best to talk through the problem with the member of staff involved or their manager. This should be the fastest and most effective way to deal with the problem as they will try to resolve the matter with you at the time.
   Alternatively, you can ask the member of staff involved or their manager to let you have a written response.
2. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, please contact the Business Manager of the service concerned. The Business Manager will then investigate and respond to your complaint.
3. If you are unhappy with the Business Manager's reply, contact the Chief Executive who will investigate and take an independent view of your complaint and the solution offered.

You can complain to Oxford City Council by:

• filling in and returning an Oxford City Council complaints form which can be downloaded or obtained from any Oxford City Council reception area
• detailing your complaint in a letter
• calling us to let us know the nature of your complaint and asking for assistance so we can direct the complaint to the most appropriate officer
• emailing your complaint to us

Contact details can be found on the right of this page.

What to do if you are still not happy

To contact the Chief Executive, please write, email or fax using the details on the right.

When can I expect to receive a reply?

If you visit the Council to complain, we will try to deal with the matter immediately. If this is not possible or you write to us we will aim to send an acknowledgement letter within three working days and a full response within a further 10 working days. If we cannot resolve the issue within this time scale you will be advised of the reasons why and given a new deadline.

What if I am still unhappy?

If you have exhausted the Council's procedure and you are still not satisfied you can refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is not part of Oxford City Council but will have an independent view. Visit the Local Government Ombudsman website for further details.

The service is confidential and free of charge. Contact us to send you a copy of the leaflet 'How to Complain to the Ombudsman', or collect one from any Oxford City Council reception area.

Page last reviewed 20 Jun 2008