Local Government Ombudsman

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LGO Advice team

LGO advice team: 0300 061 0614

 

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Submitting your complaint

First steps

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If you are not satisfied with the final answer from the council after you have complained to it, or if the council does not give you an answer within a reasonable time, you can complain to the Ombudsman. We think up to 12 weeks is usually a fair time for the council to investigate and reply to your complaint.

But where the complaint is urgent because, for example, it is about a school place for next term or you are particularly at risk, we may be able to deal with your complaint straight away.

If you have sent your complaint to us, but we think that you should have complained to the council first, we will write to the council and ask it to put your complaint through its complaints procedure.

What to do next

You should normally make your complaint to us within 12 months of realising that the council has done something wrong. If it is longer, then tell us why you could not complain sooner.

To submit a complaint, you can:

  • Telephone the LGO Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983 and make your complaint over the telephone (Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01or 02) from both mobiles and landlines, and will be included as part of any inclusive call minutes or discount schemes in the same way as geographic calls. Please note that calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes.)
  • Use the online form

If you are an adviser or solicitor, and are acting on someone else's behalf, please see our  Guide for Advisers, where you will find a link to a separate referral form to use when referring a complaint to us.

It is usually best to call our Advice Team before you make a complaint to us. Our adviser will be able to give you advice about:

  • whether your complaint is one the law allows us to investigate
  • whether there are any steps you need to take before we can look at your complaint - such as complaining to council - and where you might get help to do this
  • whether we will be able to achieve the result you want, if we find the council has been at fault
  • information it would help us to have from you
  • what special help we can provide, if you need it to make your complaint to us
  • our process and how long it may take
  • other bodies that might be able to help you if your complaint is not something we can investigate.

Our adviser will also be able to answer any other questions you have abour our service.

Date Updated: 02/11/09