Resolving complaints
Complaints can be resolved in a number of ways.
We will make sure any remedy we offer reflects the extent of any and all service failures, and how the individual was affected as a result. These shall include:
- acknowledging where things have gone wrong
- providing an explanation, assistance or reasons
- apologising
- taking action if there has been a delay
- reconsidering or changing a decision
- amending a record
- providing a financial remedy where appropriate
- changing policies, procedures or practices
The factors we will consider when deciding a remedy will include:
- the length of time that a situation has been ongoing
- the frequency with which something has occurred
- the severity of any service failure or omission
- the number of different failures
- the cumulative effect on an individual
- an individual's particular circumstances or vulnerabilities
In awarding compensation, we'll consider:
- whether any statutory payments are due
- whether any quantifiable losses have been incurred
- the time and trouble caused
- any distress and inconvenience caused
You can read examples of how we've dealt with complaints, including the lessons learned, in our complaints and enquiries reports to Standards Committee.
Monitoring and learning from complaints
We monitor the complaints we receive and how we resolve them.
We keep a record of each complaint we receive. Each record includes:
- the type of complaint
- the outcome of the complaint
- how long we took to process the complaint
- what we learned from the complaint
Our senior service managers and councillors monitor complaint reports on a regular basis.