Cheshire West and Cheshire Council is committed to providing high quality and accessible services, and operates a "Comments, Compliments and Complaints" scheme which sets out our policy and procedures for dealing with all sorts of customer feedback.
We aim to improve continuously the quality of our services for our residents and are committed to giving an equal service to all members of the public regardless of their age, colour, culture, disability, economic status, ethnic origin, gender, race, marital status, religious or sexual orientation. We have arrangements in place to help people who may have difficulty accessing our services. We can help with translation, interpretation and provide information in a variety of formats such as large print, Braille, audio cassette and computer disk. For more information about access or equality contact our Access Officer at disabilityaccess@chester.gov.uk or on 01244 402455.
When we get things wrong, we will handle your complaints quickly and efficiently. We will not only try to put things right - we will also learn from the experience. We will use this feedback to make continual improvements to our services.
• Not done something we should have done • Done something badly or in the wrong way • Treated you unfairly or discourteously
• What has gone wrong giving us as much detail as possible because it helps us to understand the situation better • What you would like us to do to put things right
Your complaint will be dealt with as follows: • Your complaint will be thoroughly investigated by a manager in the appropriate department. • We will send you a letter within five working days of receiving your complaint. This letter will either respond in full to your complaint or acknowledge that we have received it. • The acknowledgement letter will tell you the name and telephone number of the person investigating your complaint. • In normal circumstances, we will aim to deal with your complaint within 5 working days of receipt. Sometimes, more complex issues may take longer but we will keep you informed of the progress and will inform you, in writing, of any delays in response.
If you are not satisfied with our response and any decision on your complaint, and you inform us of your dissatisfaction, in writing, within 21 days of the date of the response letter, the complaint will be referred to the relevant Head of Service and they will review the matter and respond.
If you are still unhappy with the response from the Head of Service and you inform us of your continuing dissatisfaction, in writing, within 21 days of the date of the response letter, the complaint will be referred to the Chief Executive, who will review and give the Council’s final response within the standard complaints process.
If you remain dissatisfied after your complaint has been dealt with you may wish to contact the Local Government Ombudsman. You can complain at any time to the Local Government Ombudsman, who is independent of the City Council and can investigate on your behalf. The Local Government Ombudsman for this area is: Patricia Thomas Local Government Ombudsman Beverley House 17 Shipton Road York YO30 5FZ Phone: 01904 380200 Fax 01904 663269
If you think we have done something well ... please tell us. If you think we could do something in a different way or better ... please tell us. • Compliments - if you think we did something well • Comments - if you want to share your views or ask a question about any aspect of our services • Complaints - if something has gone wrong
If you wish to report any problems you are experiencing with the new waste collection service in Chester, please follow this link to complete a short report form.
To make a comment, compliment or complaint using our online form select one of the following options:
I would like to... enter a comment enter a compliment make a complaint
To contact us by letter or telephone:
Cheshire West and Chester Council Customer Services Room 46 County Hall Chester CH1 1SF Telephone 0300 123 7034 Mark your envelope either "Comment, Compliment or Complaint"