We aim to provide a high-quality service to everyone who accesses our services.
If you’ve contacted us about an issue and you are not happy with how it was handled, you can make a formal complaint.
Who can complain
Anyone who uses or is affected by our services can make a complaint.
If you complain on behalf of someone else, we may need to confirm you have permission to act on their behalf.
How to complain
You can complain online, by telephone or in person.
Online
By telephone
Contact a service directly.
Contact Customer Services on 020 8854 8888.
In person
Come to one of our service centres in Woolwich or Eltham:
The Woolwich Centre
35 Wellington Street,
London SE18 6HQ
The Eltham Centre
2 Archery Road,
London SE9 1HA
We record information and use the feedback to help improve our services. Read our corporate complaints privacy notice to find out how we use your information.
Read our complaints policy
Additional complaints processes
For some services, there is a different complaints process or things to consider before you make a formal complaint.
Read about the process before you complain online about:
You can also complain specifically about a:
Complaints about schools
Schools have their own complaints procedures. Contact the headteacher in the first instance.
If you’re still unhappy, you can complain to the school's governing body. The school will explain the procedure to you.
Appeal a decision
You may be able to appeal if you're not happy with a decision we've made.
You can appeal:
- a parking fine
- a planning decision
- a Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support decision
- an unsuccessful school application
What happens next
We’ll acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days.
We’ll investigate your complaint and aim to reply within 10 working days from the day of acknowledgement. If we need more time, we’ll let you know.
If you are not satisfied with the response, we'll review your complaint at a more senior level. We’ll aim to respond to you within 20 working days from the day of the acknowledgement. If we need more time, we’ll let you know.
Taking your complaint further
If you’re still not satisfied, you can contact an ombudsman.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
They investigate complaints about councils, adult social care providers and some other public service organisations.
Visit the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman website
Phone: 0300 061 0614
Send a letter:
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Housing Ombudsman
They investigate complaints made about councils in their role as landlords.
The Housing Ombudsman Service
Email:
info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Phone:
0300 111 3000
Visit us:
PO Box 1484
Unit D
Preston
PR2 0ET
Unreasonable customer behaviour
We’re committed to treating all customers fairly. We aim to provide high quality services and clear and timely responses to correspondence.
If customers behave unreasonably during or after the complaints process, it can result in excessive demands on our time and resources.
We do not tolerate abusive, offensive or threatening behaviour towards councillors or staff. We will take action to protect them from harassment and harm. This may include limiting the complainants contact with us.