Complaints procedure

Any dissatisfaction with a council service is a complaint.

You can make a complaint online, call 01227 862 000, or write to us at:

Canterbury City Council
14 Rose Lane
Canterbury
CT1 2UR

Your complaint may be directed straight to the service area, or through the customer contact centre.

Complaints are different from a request for service. For example, a one-off message to say that a bin has been missed could be a request for service, whereas an ongoing situation with repeated missed bins is likely to be a complaint.

What happens after I make a complaint?

Stage one

We aim to acknowledge your complaint within five working days, and provide a reply within 10 working days of the acknowledgment.

If the complaint is very complex and needs an extension to this timescale, then we will tell you when you can expect a reply. Any extension will be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and we will clearly explain the reasons for the extension to you.

If you're unhappy with the response, please contact the department or individual who dealt with it. The majority of queries are usually resolved at this stage.

Stage two

If you're still not satisfied with our response, you can ask for another officer to review your case.

We aim to acknowledge your request for a review within five working days, and provide a reply within 20 working days of the acknowledgement.

If the complaint is very complex and needs an extension to this timescale, then we will tell you when you can expect a reply. Any extension will be no more than 20 working days without good reason, and we will clearly explain the reasons for the extension to you.

Referring a complaint to the Ombudsman

If you are still not satisfied with the reply you can then refer your complaint to the relevant Ombudsman.

If your complaint is about Canterbury City Council as a landlord, you should contact the Housing Ombudsman.

For any other complaints, contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Both Ombudsman are independent of Canterbury City Council.

Their role is to investigate specific complaints about local authorities. The Ombudsman will usually only consider a complaint after it has been through both stages of our complaints procedure, so please make sure you have exhausted our complaints process before contacting them.