Make a complaint

What information we need when you make a complaint

Please include:

• the service and /or person you are concerned about
• the date, time and location of the problem and the effect this may have had on you or others
• what you expected to happen
• your name, address and contact details
• any other information you think may help us to investigate your concerns

What happens with your complaint

If we can not resolve it immediately we will:

• acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days
• give you a complaint reference number
• let you know how long we think it will take to respond to your complaint
• investigate and provide you with a response

What happens if you are unhappy with our response

If you are unhappy with our response to your complaint, we will consider an independent investigation by our complaints team. If we believe there is no value in an independent investigation then you will be advised to contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO). 

What is not a complaint

There are some situations that are not dealt with under the complaints process:

• reports of problems such as a pothole or a faulty street lights
• application for a service
• explanations of policy or practise
• requests for information - please see our page on Freedom of Information.
• where a service has a right of appeal - please use the relevant appeals procedure eg planning appeals
• a complaint that has been heard by a court or tribunal
• reporting damage or a personal injury where you believe we are responsible for eg a personal injury caused by a hazard on a road or pavement, or an insurance claim against us 

Services with a different complaint process

To make a complaint about other services, please use the specific information below:

• adult social care
  • Compliments, comments and complaints about adult social care services
  • Adult and Health Service Annual Representations Report 2023-24 (PDF, 429 KB)
• children's services
  • Compliments, comments and complaints about Children's Services
  • Young person's guide to comments, compliments and complaints
• council housing
  • Housing Complaints Policy (PDF, 236 KB)
  • Self-assessment showing compliance against the complaint handling code (PDF, 205 KB)
  • Annual Housing Complaints and Service Improvement Report 2023-24 (PDF, 142 KB)
  • Contact Council housing complaints
• schools
  • contact the head teacher of the relevant school
  • for advice, contact the School and Governor Support Service
• County councillors
• Housing associations in County Durham

Complaints about council staff

If your complaint relates to the conduct of one of our staff, we will deal with this with appropriate advice from our Human Resources and Internal Audit teams. We will then carry out a thorough investigation of the issues raised. However, where this is progressed through our disciplinary policy details must remain confidential between us and the staff member and so we may not always be able to share details of the outcome with you.