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Complaints Procedure

Hambleton District Council is committed to providing high quality services to its customers - but in any organisation things can sometimes go wrong.

We define a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction with our services and take complaints very seriously. We actively encourage people to get in touch when something goes wrong, so that we can make sure we put it right. Your complaint will be dealt with fairly; regardless of age, race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

How can I make a complaint?

Initially you can log your complaint with our customer services staff by completing our online form, telephoning 0845 1211 555 or emailing customer.services@hambleton.gov.uk. You can also call into our offices at the Civic Centre, Stone Cross, Northallerton, or the Area Offices at Town Close, Stokesley, or Police Station, Easingwold. Or you may choose to write to us at:

Customer Services
Hambleton District Council
Civic Centre
Stone Cross
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL6 2UU

If you need to make a complaint to a specific section or individual, our customer services staff will also be able to find the right person to speak to.

The following is a general guide to services the Council provides:

• Elections and Electoral Registration.
• Legal Services.
• Licensing of Hackney Carriages/Private Hire Vehicles.
• Street Collections.
• Public Entertainment and Lotteries.
• Housing and Council Tax Benefits.
• Collection of Council Tax and other income.
• Payment of Accounts.
• Customer Services.
• Communications and Marketing
• Community Safety.
• Council Car Parks.
• Engineering.
• Leisure Services.
• Markets.
• Planning Applications.
• Environmental Health.
• Refuse Collection & Street Cleaning.

 

Your complaint

A friend or relative can act on your behalf if you wish and your complaint need not be in writing. Your complaint will be investigated and dealt with as quickly as possible, you should normally get a reply within 10 working days. If the complaint is likely to take longer than this to deal with we will keep in touch to let you know what is happening.

In your complaint you should tell us:

• what you think we did wrong, or didn't do
• how you were affected by this
• what you feel we should now do about it

 

The Council will not generally deal with anonymous complaints, but you can be assured of confidentiality where this is appropriate. We may also direct you to the Ombudsman if we feel that you and the Council will not achieve anything by dealing with your complaint through all stages of the Councils Complaints Procedure (PDF - 108kB) Opens in a new window, for example:

• if the Council believes a planning permission has been properly given and the complainant objects to the development
• the Council cannot provide the remedy you seek
• it is clear the Council is not going to change its view

 

What if I want a second opinion?

After your complaint has been investigated, if you remain unhappy, you can contact us again and a Chief Officer will carry out a review in conjunction with the Chief Executive. Again the response will normally be in 10 working days.

Still not happy?

If you remain dissatisfied, you can ask for the issue to be reviewed by the Council's Standards Committee. At this stage, you need to tell us why you feel such a review is necessary and what you expect to happen as a result of it. The Standards Committee will then meet as soon as practicable.

Taking it further

The Standards Committee is the last stage in the Council's Complaints Procedure, but if you remain dissatisfied you may contact the Local Government Ombudsman and ask for an independent investigation to be carried out.

You do not have to go through all the stages of the Council's Complaints Procedure before referring the matter to the Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman will usually expect you to have notified the Council about your complaint and allowed time for the Council to respond.

Details of how to contact the Ombudsman and what will happen next are contained in a leaflet you can get by contacting customer services as above or on the Ombudsman's website at: www.lgo.org.uk Opens in a new window.

The Customer Complaints Guide (PDF - 108kB) Opens in a new window gives full details of the complaints procedure.

If you have any comments on how the Council deals with complaints, or you require more information on our complaints procedure, please contact:

The Customer Services Manager
Hambleton District Council
Civic Centre
Stone Cross
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL6 2UU

Telephone: 01609 767141
Fax: 01609 767228
Opening hours: Mon-Thu: 8.45am - 5.15pm
Fri: 8.45am - 4.45pm
Typetalk: 18001 0845 1211 555

Complaints about Councillors

The complaints procedure does not deal with the actions or behaviour of Councillors and complaints that parish, town or district Councillors may have breached the Code of Conduct. These complaints must be directed to the Council's Standards Committee. To register a complaint contact:

Chairman of the Assessment Sub-Committee
The Standards Committee
Hambleton District Council
Civic Centre
Stone Cross
Northallerton
North Yorkshire DL6 2UU

The Assessment Sub-Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a Member. It will not deal with complaints about anything not covered by the Members Code of Conduct (PDF - 390kB) Opens in a new window - it must be about why you think a Member has not followed the Code of Conduct. Full details are in the Members Code of Conduct Complaints Procedure (PDF - 1MB) Opens in a new window.

For more information contact 0845 1211 555 or email customer.services@hambleton.gov.uk.