How we will deal with your complaint

We define a complaint as: "Any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not."

Whatever your complaint, we will take it seriously.

If you wish to complain about a city council service, you should address your complaint to the Service concerned. If you are complaining about the way in which a particular officer has dealt with you, your complaint will be looked into by a service manager.

Go back to the online 'Your views count' page and feedback forms.

We will let you know that we have received your complaint. Someone from the service will contact you and they will deal directly with you while your complaint is being investigated. You may also ask to discuss your complaint in private.

We cannot promise always to get the result you want, but we will make sure that your complaint is dealt with as quickly and as thoroughly as possible and keep you informed of what is happening.

You should expect a full response within 10 working days.

Sometimes complaints are complicated and need more time to be fully investigated. A full response may therefore take longer than the 10 response target. If this is the case, we will keep you informed of progress and let you know when you can expect an answer to your concerns.

If you are unhappy with the response you get you can take the matter further

You can read the detailed Corporate Complaints Policies, processes and standards used to manage the way we deal with complaints at Southampton City Council which can be found on the right hand side of this page.

Other ways to make a complaint

There are a few exceptions to this complaints process to find out about complaints about health and social care, education or councillors see this page.

How we can help you make a complaint

If you need an interpreter or signer, we can make the arrangements.

What you can expect from us

This page gives you details of how we will reply to you and when you can expect to hear from us.

Complaints - useful contact details

If you wish to make a complaint and are not sure how to contact a Service directly, you can get in touch with any of the departments listed on this page - they will assist you

Taking your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman

If you have gone through our full complaints process and you are still not happy, you can take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.