Feedback

Your views are important to us, what you tell us helps us learn and improve. 

We want to hear from you, whether it is about things we are doing well or areas where we need to make changes.

Please tell us if:

  • we are offering services that meet your needs
  • our staff are helpful and listen to you
  • there are things that we could do better
  • we have not met your expectations
  • we have done something wrong
  • we have not done something we promised to
  • we have not treated you fairly

We will: 

  • welcome your views
  • always listen to you
  • use your feedback to make our services and the way we do things better

Compliments

Please let us know if you are happy with the way we deliver services or if you have been given helpful advice and support. We will share your compliments with our staff and managers so that they know you appreciate their hard work, and so that our staff can learn from examples of good customer service.

Comments

Please let us know if you think we could do things better or if you have an idea about a service we do not yet provide. We want to make sure our services are right for you so we will listen to your comments and make changes where appropriate.

Complaints

We try to do things right the first time but we recognise that sometimes things go wrong. We want you to tell us when you are unhappy with our services, when we make a mistake or when we break promises. We welcome the opportunity to put things right and we will use your feedback to improve our services.

We aim to resolve any mistakes or misunderstandings quickly, the first time you tell us. To help us do this, we may ask you:

  • what happened
  • how it made you feel
  • what you would like us to do about it

Things you cannot complain about 

Usually we cannot investigate your complaint if it is about something you knew of or happened to you more than 12 months before contacting us for the first time. We may make an exception in some circumstances. Please contact us if you are not sure.

Since April 2018, beaches, beach huts and tourism, have been managed by Bournemouth Borough Council’s Seafront Services. If you have a complaint, comment or compliment relating to beaches, even if this relates to a service received before April 2018, please direct it to Bournemouth Borough Council.

Council Tax, Business Rates and Housing Benefit complaints are dealt with through the Stour Valley and Poole Partnership complaints process. Please note that this does not include disputes about entitlement to Council Tax Support or Housing Benefit, as detailed below.

Also there are separate legal procedures for dealing with:

We will not be able to investigate them under our complaints procedure. 

If you think that you have suffered loss, injury or illness because of something we have done or failed to do, you may need to make an insurance claim against the council

Help and advice 

If you would like help making a complaint, you can contact your local councillor or MP.

You can also get help online from citizens advice Bournemouth and Poole, or you can call 01202 680838, email advice@poolecab.co.uk or write to:

Citizens Advice
The West Wing
The Town Hall
Bourne Avenue
Bournemouth
BH2 6DX

Feedback process 

When we receive your complaint we will:

  • contact you within 3 working days to let you know we have received your complaint
  • let you know who will investigate your complaint
  • make sure we understand what your complaint is about

We will then try to resolve your complaint within 15 working days of receiving it. If your complaint is very complicated we might need more time to investigate it, in which case we will let you know.

If we find that we did things wrong we will:

  • let you know
  • apologise
  • tell you what we will do to put things right
  • share our learning with you, staff and managers, so we do not make the same mistakes in the future 

When we receive your compliment we will:

  • share your compliments with our staff and managers so that they know you appreciate their hard work, and so that our staff can learn from examples of good customer service

When we receive your comment we will:

  • listen to your comments and let you know what we plan to do about them

If you're not happy with your response

You can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by the strategic director who is responsible for the service you are complaining about. It is helpful if you tell the strategic director which parts of our first response you are not happy with. 

We will contact you within 4 working days to let you know we have received your request. The director will aim to write to you with their findings within 20 working days of receiving your request. If your complaint is complicated they might need more time to investigate it, in which case they will let you know.

If you are still not happy with our response, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to look into your complaint. This is a free service and their job is to look at your complaint in a fair and independent way. The Ombudsman does not work for the council.

You can complain to the Ombudsman by using their complaint form, phone 0300 061 0614 or text 'call back' to 0762 480 4299. Alternatively you can write to:

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH

Compliments, comments and complaints about adult social care and children and young people's services

By law we have to deal with compliments, comments and complaints about adult social care and children and young people's services in a different way:  

Page last updated: 07 February 2019
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