Complaints

How to complain to the council

We aim to provide a high standard of service to all our customers, but we know that we don't always get it right first time.  To improve services, we need to know when you are not happy with any part of the service you have received from us or our contractors. 

If you feel that the service we have provided has fallen below the standard you expect, please complain.

We will thoroughly investigate your complaint, and it will not affect the service we provide to you.

Other complaints and reporting problems

If your complaint is not about the council and you want to report a noise or pollution problem to us, visit our nuisance section.  If you want to make a complaint relating to health and food safety, visit the health regulations section.

How do I complain?

Please first contact the council to discuss your complaint.

If you are not happy with the outcome of that discussion you can make a formal complaint.  You can do this online by following the link below: 

  • Make a complaint online  

    Alternatively, write to the council at:

    South Oxfordshire District Council
    Benson Lane
    Crowmarsh Gifford
    Wallingford
    Oxon, OX10 8HQ

    or email complaints@southoxon.gov.uk This link will take you to an external website...

    If you are unable to make your complaint in writing, due to disability or limited English, please call 01491 823103.

    What happens when I make a formal complaint?

    Your complaint will go through the following procedure.

    Stage one - The head of service of the department relating to your complaint will confirm that they have received your complaint and will give you the name of the officer who will deal with it.

    The officer will investigate your complaint and let you know the outcome within 15 working days.

    If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can go on to stage two.

    Stage two - The next step is to write to the chief executive and ask for your complaint to be investigated further.  The chief executive will pass your complaint to the relevant strategic director. 

    The strategic director will let you know they have received your letter.  They will then investigate your complaint and let you know the outcome within 15 working days.

    If you are not happy with the strategic director's response, you can go on to stage three.

    Stage three - If you are still not satisfied, you can write to the chief executive and ask for district councillors to consider your complaint.  (You must do this within six weeks of the strategic director's reply.)

    In your letter you must explain why you are not satisfied. You may have to provide extra information to support your claim.  The chief executive will decide whether or not to refer your complaint to district councillors.

    If you are not satisfied with the chief executive-s or district councillors- response, you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman. This link will take you to an external website...

    Complaints about planning, licensing and benefits decisions

    Many of the complaints we receive are about planning applications. In our experience, some people who have applied for planning permission use this complaints procedure because they are not happy with us turning down their application. This procedure is not usually appropriate because these people have a legal right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. This link will take you to an external website... In these circumstances, we will probably refuse to deal with the complaint under this procedure. This also applies to complaints about decisions on licensing applications or applications for benefits.

    Complaints about councillors

    • If you have a complaint about a district councillor or town or parish councillors, visit our councillors' code of conduct pages where you will find information about the complaints process.

    Allegations of unlawful actions

    If you think we have broken the law, you should do the following.

    Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) annual review

    Each year, the LGO publishes an annual review.  This review summarises the complaints about this council that the ombudsman's office has dealt with during the previous year.

    You can view a copy of the report for 2009/10, and the associated statistics from the downloads menu.

    Last reviewed: 12 - 09 - 2011

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