Your council
Council services – who does what
Comments, compliments and complaints
Comments, compliments and complaints
You are our top priority. We want to know how we are doing and we want to resolve any concerns as quickly as possible.
If you have suffered injury, or damage to your property or vehicle, go to our make an insurance claim against us page, the complaints process should not be used.
Comment
A comment is a suggestion or observation about a service delivered by us, a supplier or partner.
Compliment
A compliment is praise for an individual or a service delivered by us, a supplier or partner.
Complaint
We define a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction, where you feel any of the following has happened:
- Failure to provide a service, or experience of dissatisfaction with the way we have provided a service
- Unreasonable delays with the provision of a service
- Dissatisfaction with the way a policy has been applied or a decision made
- Failure to fulfil our statutory responsibilities
- Provision of inaccurate or false information and advice to you
- The conduct of staff, partners or contractors has been inappropriate
Before you make a complaint
We do not include initial requests for a service as part of our complaints process.
These requests will be directed to the right team to manage as part of their normal processes.
Examples of service requests include:
- Reporting an abandoned vehicle
- Reporting fly tipping
- A missed bin collection
If you’ve already reported it and we failed to do something, then a complaint can be raised.
How can I raise a concern?
Please read our customer complaints policy below and understand whether you should make a complaint or whether there is an alternative way of contacting us.
Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code
As a member of the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and the Housing Ombudsman (HO), we are required to comply with the requirements of the newly formed joint Complaint Handling Code (“The Code”) and take action to ensure our complaint handling procedures are in line with The Code. The joint Complaint Handling Code is the first time two Ombudsman schemes (LGO & HO) have worked together on a unified Code and to help raise the standard of complaint handling across housing and local government services.
View EFDC’s Complaint Self-Assessment which assess our compliance to The joint Complaint Handing Code:
Annual complaints performance report
This report details EFDC Complaints Performance as a Council for 2024-2025.
As well as performance, the report also details the next steps The Council aim to take by way of moving forward.
Transformation Portfolio Holder and member responsible for complaints, Cllr Smruti Patel, had this to say about the EFDC Annual Complaints Report 2024-2025:
Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) received 1,426 formal complaints, of which 40% met the criteria of a complaint as per the Complaints Policy, which equates to 27 complaints per week. Since the implementation of a new KPI (Key Performance Indicator) in July 2024, EFDC saw an increase in the number of Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints being resolved within agreed timescales from 81% in the previous year to 91%.
EFDC aims to respond to complaints swiftly and effectively, ensuring that each matter is reviewed on its own merit and that there is a great customer experience throughout the process. EFDC will continue to review best practices and guidance in complaints handling from the Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The council will continue to train staff on best practices to resolve complaints and frequently monitor performance to continuously improve on any opportunities. Accountability and openness are important when managing complaints. Identifying learnings from complaints help to develop plans for the way forward and help to prevent future occurrences.
EFDC tracks all complaints from initial submission to closure, ensuring that residents are kept informed throughout the process. The aim is to provide timely and objective outcomes for all complaints.