Complaints process - how it works

The complaints process consists of two stages and we aim to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction as soon as we can at stage one.

Stage one

Your complaint will be acknowledged within five working days of being received. It will then be allocated to the most appropriate person to investigate.

A full response will be provided to you within 10 working days of being acknowledged. There may be occasions when a complaint is particularly complex and requires further consideration. In these instances, the timescale can be extended by a further 10 working days. If this is the case, the decision and reasoning will be clearly explained to you.

If you raise additional issues during stage one, these will be incorporated into the response (if they are related). If the issues are not in relation to issues already investigated or being investigated, they will be logged as a new complaint.

Stage two

If we have not been able to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction at stage 1, it can be progressed to stage two within 10 working days of you receiving the first response. 

This is the final stage of the complaints process.

You will be required to outline which parts of the complaint have not been satisfied and it will be acknowledged within five working days of your escalation.

The stage two consideration is a review of the adequacy of the stage 1 response, as well as any new and relevant information not previously considered. Stage two is not a more thorough, detailed investigation of the complaint.

A full and final response to your complaint will be provided within 20 working days of being acknowledged. Should an extension be required (as per stage one, if a complaint requires more complex investigation), a further 20 working days can be utilised to ensure the best possible response is provided. This will be clearly communicated to you.

The complaint will be allocated to and investigated by a different person to that of the first stage.

The final response will contain:

• full understanding of the complaint
• the decision made (upheld, partially upheld or not upheld)
• reasons for the decisions made
• proposed remedies
• actions and learning
• information on how to escalate to the LGSCO