- Scottish Borders Council

Notes on the Complaint Procedure

Your complaint will be acknowledged in 5 working days and you will be given a reference number and told who is dealing with it.

You will receive a reply to your complaint within 20 working days. If we cannot give you and answer within this period we will write to you to explain why and give an indication of when you can expect a full response.

If we are at fault we will apologise and try to put things right.

If we are not at fault we will explain why.

If you are unhappy you can request your complaint be referred to the director of the department involved and subsequently to the Chief Executive.

If you are still not satisfied you can send your complaint to the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman at:

Scottish Public Service Ombudsman
FREEPOST EH641
Edinburgh
EH3 0BR
Tel: 0800 377 7330
Fax: 0800 377 7331
Text: 0790 049 4372
Email: ask@spso.org.uk
www.spso.org.uk

Areas not covered by the Complaints System

Complaints against Social Work must use separate procedures. Details of these available the "Your Right to be Heard" leaflet available from council offices, by freephone 08000194490.

Complaints can be registered against Social Work by completing the online form.

Separate arrangements are in place for complaints about the conduct of Elected Members. Details of these are available by contacting Legal Services, Council Headquarters Newtown St Boswells, Melrose TD6 0SA Tel 01835 824000.

Where a statutory right of appeal exists i.e. where there is a formal process in place to challenge a council decision, these should be used rather than the complaints procedure. For example

If a planning application is refused the applicant has the right to appeal to Scottish Ministers within six months of the decision.
If you believe your house is incorrectly valued for council tax you can appeal to the assessor.
If your child has a co-ordinate support plan your appeal route is through the Additional Support for Learning (ASFL) Tribunal.

Details of statutory rights of appeal will be available when decisions to which they apply are made.

Complaints definition

Failure to provide the standard or quality of service promised by the council.
Dissatisfaction with the way the council policies ae being applied or administered.
Delays in responding to customer enquiries or requests.
The treatment by, or unhelpful attitude of, a member of staff.
Unlawful or unfair discrimination.

The following are NOT regarded as complaints

Initial reporting of a fault
Request for a service