Corporate Procedure
Worcestershire County Council needs your input
At Worcestershire County Council we try to deliver the best
possible service by putting our customers first and making every
effort to satisfy them. However, as in all large organisations
things can and do go wrong. When this happens please tell us and
give us the chance to put things right.
We also welcome your comments as they can highlight gaps or
weaknesses in the services we provide, and like everyone we are
pleased to be complimented if we have done a good job!
What Do We
Mean By A Representation?
A representation is any statement made by a member of the public
to convey an opinion about our services or the way in which we
provide them. This can take the form of a compliment, comment or
complaint.
How Can You Make Compliments
And Comments?
We are very happy to receive compliments and comments from you.
You can do this by letter, phone, fax, e-mail, personal visit to
any County Council office or on our web-site.
We will make sure that the compliment is passed on to the person
concerned. Any comments will be carefully considered and you will
be informed of any decisions taken, as a result of your
comments.
What Do We Mean By A
Complaint?
"An expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the
standard of service, actions or lack of action by the Council,
affecting any customer."
What Can You
Expect From Us?
·Your representation will be acknowledged within 7 working
days
·You will be given the name and number of the person dealing
with your representation
·You will receive a full written response and we
will keep you informed of progress
·You will be treated fairly and courteously
·Your complaint will be treated confidentially
·We will not discriminate against you in the future because you
have complained
·The Council will always try to put things right
·We will use information gathered from complaints to improve our
services in the future
·Complaints made one year after the event complained about may
not be accepted for investigation.
How Can You Make A
Complaint?
Stage 1
Informal
The first thing to do is to complain directly to the people who
are responsible for providing the service you are unhappy with.
Just fill in the form or contact us in any of the other ways
listed.
If your complaint cannot be quickly and easily dealt with or if
you are still unhappy it becomes a formal complaint.
Formal
The complaint will be passed to a senior manager for further
action. It will be acknowledged within 7 working days and you will
receive a full, written explanation within 20 working days, or, if
this is impossible, you will be given an alternative date.
If at this stage you are still unhappy you can ask for the
complaint to be passed onto the stage 2 process.
Stage 2
If appropriate, the complaint is investigated by the Customer
Services Officer who will acknowledge the complaint within 7
working days and issue a full, written reply.
If you are still not happy, you may request that the complaint
goes before a Review Panel.
Stage 3
The request will be acknowledged within 3 working days and, if
accepted, the Panel will be convened within 28 working days.
The Panel will consist of an independent Chairman and two County
Councillors. Any recommendations made by the Panel are referred to
the Chief Executive for action.
Special Cases
Social Services has a statutory procedure for handling some
complaints. Leaflets are available from either Social Services or
the Consumer Relations Unit at County Hall.
Complaints relating for example to certain Education issues,
insurance claims or councillor's conduct have their own procedures.
The Customer Services Officer can advise you on this.
