Complain about the council
On this page:
- What you can make a complaint about
- How to make a complaint
- If you need help making a complaint
- What happens next
What you can make a complaint about
You can make a complaint when you’re unhappy with something we have or have not done, for example if we:
- do not follow a process
- do not follow our own policies
- repeatedly fail to provide a service
- do not do what we said we would
- do not respond to you
You can complain about any of our services or anyone working for us.
We encourage you to tell us when things go wrong, so we can put them right and learn from our mistakes.
If you’re not sure if your issue is a complaint or not, get in touch with us and we’ll help you work out the next steps.
Issues that have a different process
Some issues have their own processes and are not managed by our complaints process. This includes if you want to:
- report a housing repair
- report antisocial behaviour
- challenge a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) or moving traffic penalty
- ask for a review of our response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request
- ask for a review of a subject access request or how your data is used
- appeal a decision about a Council Tax discount or exemption, or challenge your council tax band
- complain about a councillor
How to make a complaint
There are 4 ways you can make a complaint.
You should make a complaint within 12 months of the incident happening. We’ll only consider a complaint made after this if there are exceptional reasons for the delay, such as the issue has only just come to your attention.
You can make a complaint for yourself or on behalf of someone else. If you’re making a complaint for someone else, you need to get their consent first.
Complain online
You can make a complaint using our online form. This is the quickest way for us to process complaints.
Complain by email
You can make a complaint by emailing us at [email protected].
Tell us as much detail as you can, as well as any documents, images or videos that help explain your complaint. In your email, include:
- which service you’re complaining about
- what your complaint involves
- when the issue you’re complaining about started or happened
- how the issue has affected you
- what you would like us to do
Complain by phone
You can make a complaint by phone by calling us on 020 7974 4444, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (except bank holidays). Only emergency calls will be handled outside these hours.
If you’re D/deaf or hard of hearing, you can call us for free using SignVideo.
We’re happy to take your complaint over the phone. But if your issue is complex or you need to share documents or images, you may be directed to the online or email methods if possible. Let us know if you cannot do this and we’ll help you.
Complain by post
You can make a complaint in writing by sending it to us at:
The Complaints Team
Camden Town Hall
Judd Street
London
WC1H 9JE
Contacting us by post is usually the slowest method and you’ll need to pay for postage. If you can, try one of the other ways to make a complaint first.
If you need help to make a complaint
We can offer support if you need help to make a complaint. Find ways to get in touch with us, including SignVideo and visiting our offices.
What happens next
Once we receive your complaint, we’ll let you know we’ve received it and we’re reviewing it within 5 working days – this is called an acknowledgement.
We’ll explain what will happen next and when you can expect a response.
Find out how our complaints process works.
Unreasonable behaviour
We’re open to complaints and we want to learn from them. We expect everyone to treat our staff with respect and we will not tolerate unreasonable behaviour. This includes behaviour that is:
- abusive, offensive or threatening
- deceitful and vexatious (deliberately trying to cause annoyance, frustration or worry)
Find out more about our unreasonable complainant behaviour policy.