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If you're unhappy with our response to your complaint

We’ll always try to reach a resolution with you in a timely way when you make a complaint to us.

But if you’re unhappy with our decisions, there is another stage in the complaints process that you can follow.

On this page:

Stage 2: Ask for a review or appeal our response

If you’re unhappy with our decision after stage 1, you can ask us to review. Another investigating officer who has not been involved can look at the decisions we made to see if we made the right ones.  

If you’re unhappy with the response from a TMO, your complaint will be passed to our central complaints team to be reviewed. If you do not get a response from a TMO, let us know. 

If your complaint involves adult or child social care, an independent investigator will review. 

We’ll aim to respond to you fully within 20 working days, but if we need to extend this then we’ll tell you. This can be extended up to 65 days. 

You need to ask for a review within 1 calendar month after the agreed actions are due to be taken or within 1 calendar month of receiving our response, whichever is later.

If you're still unhappy with our response

Ask for an independent review

If we've shared our review and you’re still unhappy with our response, you can ask for a free and independent review from an ombudsman. An ombudsman is an independent person or organisation who investigates complaints and can make final decisions. 

You usually need to have gone through stages 1 and 2 of our complaints process before an ombudsman will start a review. 

You can also contact the ombudsman for free advice at any point in the complaints process, including before you’ve made a complaint. 

There are 2 ombudsman who can review your complaint: 

How long this review takes will depend on the ombudsman’s own timeline. We’ll respond to any findings with 15 working days of receiving them. 

Children’s social care complaints

If your complaint is about children’s social care, stage 3 has an independent review panel before going to the ombudsman. The panel will review the complaint and respond with their findings in 5 working days. If you’re unhappy with this response, you can then contact the ombudsman. 

Get in touch

If you have any questions about our complaints process or you want support, get in touch with us by:

You can speak to our team by phone on 020 7974 4444:

  • Monday to Tuesday, 9am to 4.30pm
  • Wednesday, 11am to 4.30pm (closed from 9am to 11am for staff training)
  • Thursday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm

Alternative formats

Find out about stage 1 of our complaints process.

If you need our complaints process in an alternative format, you can: