Make a complaint to the council

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about anything we have done, or perhaps, not done. It might be about: 

• failure to deliver a service​ 
• delay in providing a service​ 
• unsatisfactory quality of a service​ 
• the behaviour of a member of our staff​ 
• failure of our staff in following council policy​
• the policy itself

Complaint policies

• Read our Complaints Policy Final Version 2022 (PDF) [204KB] .
• Read our  Vexatious, Malicious and Persistent Grievances Policy (PDF) [157KB] .

The Complaints Handling Code

The Housing Ombudsman published its complaint handling code (opens new window) in July 2020.  The codes outlines what you can and should expect from us as your landlord when you complain.  

A key part of the code is for us as your landlord to annually self-assess our performance against the code. 

See the results of our latest assessment (Word doc) [39KB]

Formal complaints about our services will only be investigated if you have already reported your issue to the correct service area for a resolution. We may reject your complaint if there is no evidence that you have already done this. 

Report an issue

There are certain subject areas that we would not consider as a complaint.

These include: ​ 

• the first-time you make a request for service (such as removal of fly-tipping, missed waste collection, reporting noise nuisance, or reporting a housing repair) ​  
• a request for information or an explanation of council policy (such as why the council tax is set at a certain level) ​ 
• disagreement with a council policy decision

There are some occasions when a complaint is not dealt with under this policy. This includes when there is a separate appeal or review procedure. This may be an internal council procedure or external legal process through the courts. If this is the case, we will explain this when you first contact us. We will tell you what to do next. 

In many situations, your first point of contact with us will be with our customer service centre. Our customer service staff try to resolve complaints about our services. If that is not possible, we will put you in touch with the relevant service. If neither service can sort the issue or provide reasonable details of why this cannot be achieved, then the process below will be followed.  

Stage 1 - Complaint 

If you are not happy with the service you have received from us, you can make a Stage 1 complaint. Our aim is to resolve any complaint we receive at this stage as quickly as possible. 

You can make a complaint using our online form or in writing. If you need help with submitting your complaint in writing, our customer services advisors can help.  

Make a complaint

What happens after I have made the complaint?

While we hope to resolve any complaint immediately, for Stage 1 complaints we will: 

• acknowledge complaints within three working days 
• fully investigate and respond to complaints within 10 working days 
• where it is not possible to respond within the 10-day period, due to the complexity of a complaint or due to the absence of a key officer or another specific reason, we will contact you to let you know when you can expect a reply
• if this is the case, a further extension of 10 working days will be added to respond to you
• you will always be notified of any changes to the standard response target

If you are not happy with the response to your Stage 1 complaint, you can appeal it. 

Stage 2 - Appeal 

To be considered for an appeal, you need to have submitted a Stage 1 complaint and received our response. You then have 28 days to submit a Stage 2 appeal in writing. Send it to Guildford Borough Council, Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford, GU2 4BB.

A Stage 2 appeal must meet any of the following criteria: 

• we made our decision based on inaccurate facts that could change our decision 
• you have new and relevant information that was not previously available and which might change our decision 
• we overlooked or misunderstood parts of your complaint or did not take account of relevant information which could change our decision

What happens after I make an appeal?

For Stage 2 appeals we will aim to: 

• acknowledge the appeal request within three working days  
• fully investigate and respond to the accepted appeal within 20 days
• where it is not possible to respond within the 20 day period, due to the complexity of a complaint or due to the absence of a key officer or another specific reason, we will contact you to let you know when you can expect a reply
• you will always be notified of any changes to the standard response target

If you are not happy with the response to your Stage 2 appeal, you can refer it to the relevant ombudsman service. 

Stage 3 - Send your complaint to Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman or Housing Ombudsman 

We hope we can sort out any problems quickly and successfully. There will be occasions where we will not be able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction.  If this is the case, you can contact the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). If the complaint is housing-related, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman (HO).

The LGSCO and HO will not normally consider a complaint until it has been through our full complaints procedure outlined above.