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The City Council aims to provide good-quality, cost effective services, but recognises that, at times, things can go wrong. If they do, we need to know so we can put them right and learn from them.

Below we explain the procedures available to you if you consider that we have failed:

• to provide a service
• to be courteous
• in our standard of work
• in our administration of procedures
• to adhere to our rules or regulations
• to provide you with correct information
• to treat you fairly and promptly

The best way to sort out a problem is by raising the issue with the person you have been dealing with or their immediate line manager.  This is called local resolution. At this stage we think those people who deliver the service are best placed to resolve an issue.

We can usually sort out mistakes and misunderstandings quickly and informally at this stage.

If you have been unable to resolve your complaint at the informal stage then you can move to the next stage as set out below.

Stage one

To raise a formal complaint:

• Fill in the online complaints form and you will be given a reference number for your complaint.
• You can also request a printed copy of the complaints form from our Customer Service Centre by telephone on 01962 840 222
• In writing to Winchester City Council, Colebrook Street, Winchester, Hants, SO23 9LJ

We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days, then investigate and respond within ten working days.

Stage two

• If you feel that your complaint has not been resolved at stage one, you can contact the Chief Executive Office at complaints@winchester.gov.uk with the reference number you were given at stage one. You will need to set out why you are not satisfied and what you expect from a further review.  You will receive a response within twenty working days.

If you have been through all stages of our complaints procedure and feel your complaint has still not been resolved, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or the Housing Ombudsman to review your complaint.  Please see further information and contact details for each of these free services below.

As soon as court action is indicated, threatened or initiated, the council will suspend its response to a complaint until a legal process commenced or a decision is determined.

If you have been through all stages of our complaints procedure and are still unhappy, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to review your complaint.

The Ombudsman investigates complaints in a fair and independent way - it does not take sides. It is a free service.

The Ombudsman expects you to have given us chance to deal with your complaint, before you contact them. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable time, it may decide to look into your complaint anyway. This is usually up to 12 weeks but can be longer for social care complaints that follow a statutory process.

About the Ombudsman

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is the final stage for complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services. It also investigates complaints about all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) for people who self-fund their care.

Contact

• Visit the Ombudsman  website
• Call us on 0300 061 0614
• Write to us at Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 4771, Coventry CV4 0WH

The Housing Ombudsman service is there throughout the lifetime of your complaint and if you feel you need further help and guidance on your complaint, and is free to use.

The Housing ombudsman will support complaint resolutions between you and us and will formally investigate a complaint. We will co-operate fully with all requests from the Housing ombudsman to support them in their findings and comply with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

The Housing Ombudsman Service aim’s to provide a fair and effective way of dealing with complaints against member landlords from their tenants. The service, will try to remedy the situation by either asking the landlord to change their way of working or offering financial redress.

If you have been through all stages of the complaints procedure and remain dissatisfied with the response or at any stage you feel we have not handled your complaint in line with our policy, you can ask the Housing Ombudsman and they may be able to investigate how we dealt with the matter.

The contact details for the Housing Ombudsman Service are:

• Online complaint form:
• Phone: 0300 111 3000
• Email:
• Postal address: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET

In July 2020, the Housing Ombudsman published a new Complaint Handling code which came into effect July 2020 and was amended in 2022.  The Housing Ombudsman provides more information on their website about the Complaint Handling Code which is in the process of being updated, and will come into effect in April 2024, you can access here. 

You may involve your local Councillor(s) at any stage of the complaint procedure and seek their advice and guidance. If you wish, the Councillor(s) will handle the complaint on your behalf. Details of the Councillors and the Wards they represent can be obtained from the Committee Services Section at the City Offices on (01962) 848 264 or through the 'Members' page on this site.

There is a separate procedure to follow if you think that a local Councillor has acted incorrectly. If your complaint is about the way a local Councillor has acted, please refer to the Code of Conduct in the Related Links section of this page.

 

In general, dealing with a complaint is a straightforward process, but in a minority of cases people pursue their complaints in a way that can impede the investigation of their complaint or can have significant resource implications for the authority.

This policy has been formulated to deal with the very small number of complainants whose frequency of contact with the authority, insoluble and persistent complaints, or unacceptable behaviour makes it necessary for special measures to be taken. You can read the policy in full. ^{(pdf, 188kb)}

Initially the complaint needs to be made to Winchester Complaints procedure:

https://www.winchester.gov.uk/about/contact-us/complaints after Stage 2. 

It will be processed in-line with the SDNPA Complaint policy and procedure link below:

https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/national-park-authority/contact-us/compliments-comments-complaints/