Please refer to our Corporate Privacy Notice, Complaints Process Privacy Notice and service specific Privacy Notices for further details of how we process your personal information and your rights.
Please note that we have no links or affiliations to an organisation called 'Resolver', which purports to provide a free, independent issue resolution service.
What can you formally complain to us about
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction from someone who has used our service. Broadly, you can complaint to us about:
- Not providing a service or inadequate standard of service
- How we met your needs
- How we communicated with you
- Treatment by or attitude of our staff
- Not following the appropriate administrative process
Your complaint must be about something specific. Please tell us what you believe we have done wrong, how this has affected you and what you think we should do to put things right.
Some complaints or appeals are dealt with differently for legal reasons e.g: fraud, homelessness and benefits. We will let you know when this applies.
Please note that the Council is not responsible for the Dartford Crossing and/or Dart Charge related issues - complaints are to be referred to National Highways. Complaints related to highway issues, such as overgrowing vegetation, potholes, street lighting etc., are to be referred to Kent County Council.
When to make a formal complaint
We encourage you to complain to us as soon as you can after the event has occurred. We will not be able to investigate complaints more than twelve months after the cause of complaint has arisen.
Anonymous complaints
Anonymity makes it more difficult for us to properly investigate and understand your complaint, and to provide appropriate responses or redress. We may record and investigate anonymous complaints, but we do encourage names and addresses so we can report back.
Social media and complaints
Social media should not be used to raise complaints, as platforms are not continuously monitored, especially outside normal working hours. If you have a formal complaint about us, you should contact us via our complaints procedure.
How to make your complaint
Online
Please note that for security reasons, you have 20 minutes in which to complete the online complaint form, failing which the system will 'time out' and you will lose the form and your information. Normally, the form takes a few minutes to complete. However, if you are concerned that you may not have enough time to type all you want to say, we suggest typing the information in a separate document first, then cut and paste the text into the complaint form.
It is not possible to add attachments to the online complaint form. If you have any documents to support your complaint, you can instead send us your complaint by post using our paper complaint form.
Paper complaint form or in writing
You can call our Customer Services on 01322 343434 and ask for a complaint form to be sent to you.
Please send your complaint form or complaint letter to the following address:
Corporate Complaints Officer, Dartford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1DR
By phone
You can call Customer Services on 01322 343434 to make a complaint. We welcome calls via Relay UK.
By email
You can email complaints.officer@dartford.gov.uk to make a complaint.