Service Charter

Complaints, Compliments and Comments

Tameside Council is committed to delivering the highest possible quality and level of service to the people.

The Council intends to provide services through best practice and in line with public needs. We shall continually seek improvements.

We welcome any feedback, suggestions or comments which may help to improve the services we offer.

Complaints about Council services are taken seriously and are logged onto our Complaints system. We analyse the cause of a complaint, rectify our mistakes and improve our service.

If your complaint is concerning Adult Services or Services for Children and Young People, it will be dealt with under a separate procedure.

• View the procedure for Adult Services complaints.
• View the procedure for Children's Social Care complaints.

Anonymous complaints are accepted and will be investigated. However, it is better to provide contact details so that we can inform you of the outcome of our investigations.

Compliments are also welcome and can be logged using the same Complaints system. Log the compliment in exactly the same way as you would do a complaint and we will identify it as a compliment internally.

The definition of a complaint

A complaint is...

"An expression of dissatisfaction about the council's action or lack of action or about the standard of a service, whether the action taken or the service was provided by the council itself or a body acting on behalf of the Council".

A complaint is not an initial request for service. Please use the Council website's A-to-Z to log directly with the relevant service.

We will:

• Ensure your Complaints are responded to within our target of 5 working days
• Seek to match your needs in service delivery and quality
• Continue to bring services nearer to local people through consultation in our District Assemblies

You can help us by:

• Reporting any Dangerous Building or Structure that poses an immediate danger on 0161 342 2637 or 2638 during office hours or Telephone 0161 342 2222 or Minicom 0161 342 3009 out of office hours.
• Logging initial requests for a service direct to the relevant service via the Council website's A-to-Z
• Informing us of any dissatisfaction you may have, with any of our services, and logging your Complaint directly onto our Complaints system.
• Providing us with clear concise information of your complaint and daytime contact details.
• Telling us if you don't understand anything on this webpage

What happens when a Complaint is received?

A Service Unit Manager or their delegate will respond to you within 5 working days of receipt. We will keep you regularly updated of progress until your complaint is fully resolved.

If you are still not happy:

If you are not happy with the time we took to respond, with the way we kept you informed, or with the manner in which you were dealt with you can progress your complaint to the next stage, Stage 2 Complaint.

The Complaints Officer will arrange for the relevant Director to investigate your complaint. The Director will reply to your complaint within 20 working days. Sometimes delays are unavoidable, but if we do need longer to resolve your complaint, we will explain the reasons for any delay and update you on progress at regular intervals until conclusion.

You can also discuss your complaint with your ward Councillor. You can find out who your Councillors are by clicking on the Councillor Information button above or from your local Customer Services Office.

You may wish to seek advice from the Local Government Ombudsman who is not part of Tameside MBC. The Ombudsman can be contacted on their advice line on 0845 602 1983 or at www.lgo.org.uk/complain.htm .

Equal Opportunities

Tameside Council is committed to giving an equal service to all. This means we will not treat you any differently because of your:- sex, colour, race, nationality, ethnic group, regional or national origin, age, marital status, disability, political or religious belief, sexuality or class.

You can get in touch with us:

Complaints (Freepost), Tameside MBC, Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6ZZ

0161 342 8355 0161 342 2836

At any Customer Services Centre or Library (In Touch) Centre Log or Check Progress of a Complaint

Download a complaints leaflet 32.11 KB

Alternatively, you can contact your Ward Councillor

Attend your local District Assembly Meeting