For information on how and where to send your complaint, please see our how to complain page.
If you need help and advice to make a complaint, please see our help and advice on the corporate complaints procedure page.
Stage One - Express your dissatisfaction
Under Stage One, we will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receipt.
Your complaint will be referred to the Corporate Complaints Officer and the service Manager responsible for investigating your complaint.
We aim to provide a full response within 10 working days of our acknowledgement of your complaint.
If this timescale cannot be met, a revised timescale will be advised to you, which will be no more than 10 further working days. We will clearly explain the reasons for an extension to the timescale to respond to your complaint and provide you with the contact details of the relevant Ombudsman.
When the investigation is complete, the service Manager will write to you and explain how and why they have come to their conclusions.
If your complaint is upheld (ie: the outcome of the review finds in your favour), you will receive an apology and where appropriate, be given details of any action that we will take to remedy the situation or at least put things right for the future.
If your complaint is partially upheld (ie: the outcome of the review finds in your favour, in part), you will receive an apology and explanation and where appropriate, be given details of any action that we will take to remedy the situation or at least put things right for the future.
If your complaint is not upheld (ie: the outcome of the review does not find in your favour), you will be given an explanation. You will be given the name and contact details of the Corporate Complaints Officer, and advised what to do next if you are still not satisfied and wish to pursue your complaint under Stage Two.
Stage Two - Review
If you remain dissatisfied after Stage One of the complaints procedure, you may request your complaint is escalated to Stage Two for a review.
Under Stage Two, we will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of your escalation request being received.
We aim to provide a full response to you within 20 working days' of our acknowledgement of your request for a review.
If this timescale cannot be met, a revised timescale will be advised to you which will be no more than 20 further working days. We will clearly explain the reasons for an extension to the timescales to respond to your complaint and provide you with the contact details of the relevant Ombudsman.
You should write to the Corporate Complaints Officer via Customer Services (contact details are at the end of this page). Or you may do this by filling in the online complaint form or by letter, email, Relay UK, telephone, or by printing a copy of the complaint form and posting this to us.
You should make it clear that you want to invoke Stage Two of our complaints procedure.
Your Stage Two review request will be referred to the Corporate Complaints Officer and the relevant service Director. You will be notified of the name of the person (an individual independent of the Stage One decision) responsible for considering and reviewing your complaint afresh and the likely timescale.
The person who considers and reviews your complaint under this Stage of our complaints procedure will:
- Make sure that your complaint is clear
- Check that the Stage One procedure has been completed
- Review, with the person who dealt with your initial approach, the reasons for their response
- Consider the issues afresh for themselves
- Consult the Council's lawyers if there are any doubts about our statutory powers relevant to the issues
- Decide upon their own findings in the light of these considerations and
- Write to you setting out their findings
The review will produce a detailed response, which will contain sufficient information to show that your complaint has been fully investigated.
This will be our final response to you under our complaints procedure. If your complaint is upheld (ie: the outcome of the review finds in your favour), you will receive an apology and, where appropriate, be given details of any action that we will take to remedy the situation or at least put things right for the future.
If your complaint is partially upheld (ie: the outcome of the review finds in your favour, in part), you will receive an apology and explanation and where appropriate, be given details of any action that we will take to remedy the situation or at least put things right for the future.
If your complaint is not upheld (ie: the outcome of the review does not find in your favour) you will be given an explanation.
For all Stage Two complaint outcomes, you will be given details of your right to complain to the relevant Ombudsman, if you remain dissatisfied.
If your complaint concerns perceived harassment or unfair treatment by us because of your age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation, the following body is the ultimate authority to which to complain, following the Stage Two process:
Equality Advisory and Support Service
Telephone: 0808 800 0082
Website: Equality Advisory Service
Stage Two review of a data protection, freedom of information, environmental information and re-use of information decision
If you are dissatisfied with our response on a data protection, freedom of information, environmental information and re-use of information request, you can ask for a Stage Two review of our decision. The Information Commissioner is the regulator to complain to following the Stage Two process (contact details for the Information Commissioner are at the end of this page).
Stage Three - Ombudsman investigation
We hope to resolve most complaints internally, but if you are not satisfied with the Stage Two response, or if we do not give you an answer within a reasonable time, you can ask the relevant Ombudsman to investigate your complaint.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is an independent watchdog for local government. They consider complaints about council services (excluding social housing landlord-related complaints which are considered by the Housing Ombudsman – see section below).
Subject to the following exceptions, the Ombudsman will not accept a complaint unless it has been through all stages of our complaints procedure:
- Complaints about homelessness
- Complaints by or on behalf of children and young people
- Complaints against more than one body
- Complaints where the Council's director(s) has exercised discretion not to investigate further
- Complaints where the Ombudsman has exercised discretion to accept a complaint because he/she has good reason to believe the council would not handle it effectively
- Where there has been unreasonable delay by the council in processing a complaint and
- Although the Ombudsman will no longer routinely contact complainants who have made 'premature' complaints in order to check on progress, there may be complaints where the Ombudsman's Advice Team decides that it is appropriate to do so
You can make an electronic complaint by using the Ombudsman's online form www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by telephoning the Ombudsman's Adviceline (see below).
Address: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Please see the Ombudsman's interactive map - ‘Your Council's Performance’ detailing our compliance with Ombudsman investigations.
Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman is set up by law to look at complaints about the housing organisations that are registered with them. They resolve disputes involving tenants and leaseholders of social landlords (housing associations and local authorities) and their voluntary members.
Where a complaint involves the actions of the Council as both the landlord and the local authority, the Housing Ombudsman and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman may decide to carry out a joint investigation.
The Housing Ombudsman defines landlord functions as leasehold services, moving to a Council owned property, rent and service charges, occupancy rights, Council owned property condition (repairs and improvements), tenants' behaviour, estate management, complaints handling and compensation.
If you are a Council tenant or leaseholder and have exhausted our corporate complaints procedure and you remain dissatisfied you may complain to:
Address: Housing Ombudsman Service - 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET
Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 111 3000
Please note that since October 1, 2022, tenants who remain dissatisfied with the Council’s Stage Two review decision no longer have to contact the ‘designated person’ or wait eight weeks before referring their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. Tenants can still contact their MP, local councillor or tenant panel about a complaint, but the 'designated person' role will not be part of the Housing Ombudsman’s formal process.
[1] Schedule 2, para.7 Housing Act 1996 (as amended)
Dartford Borough Council Customer Services
Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1DR
Telephone: 01322 343434
Online: Contact the Corporate Complaints Officer
Information Commissioner
For complaints following a Stage Two review of a data protection, freedom of information, environmental information and re-use of information decision.
The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/