Medway Council Customer Charter

Transcription

1 Medway Council Customer Charter Compliments Ideas Complaints 1

2 Our Customer Charter Our goal is to give our customers a great service. This charter tells you what you can expect from us and the other organisations we work with. We want to hear from you if you are happy with our services. We want to hear from you if you think we could make our services better. This charter tells you how to contact us by: Phone Visiting one of our offices 2

3 Our Promise We will: Be polite and helpful. Listen to you and try as hard as we can to help. Be fair to you and treat everyone the same way. Help you to tell us what you think of our services. Always tell you who we are. Give information in language that is easy to understand. Look into any complaints about our services. Always try to answer your questions the first time you contact us. or: Let you know how we can help if we cannot answer your question right away. 3

4 Our Customer Service Standards When you phone us we will always: Try to answer before the phone rings 6 times. Make sure you can speak to the right person. If we cannot answer your question we will tell you who can. We will tell that person why you have rung, so you do not have to repeat yourself. If we cannot answer your question right away, we will phone you back at a good time for you. When you us we will always: Try to reply in 5 days or: Let you know how long it will take us to do this. When you write to us we will always: Try to reply in 10 working days (Monday - Friday) or: We will let you know how long it will take us to do this. 4

5 Compliments and Ideas Please tell us if: You think we have done well. You have ideas for how we could make our services better. You can write what you think on page 17 of this booklet. Then tear the page out and send it to us. Or you can contact us on our website: You can also find comment cards at Medway Council s community hubs and contact points (see pages 15 and 16 for details). 5

6 How to Complain There may be times when you are not happy about a service and want to complain. If you do this, we will look into it properly and quickly. We will let you know the result. It will help if you give us as much information as possible. We would also like your name, , phone number and address. Then we can contact you quickly to make things right. Please note that complaints about Adult or Children s social care and about schools are handled differently: To complain about Adult or Children s social care contact our Social Care Complaints Manager: Phone: [email protected] 6

7 To complain about a school, contact them directly. They will have their own complaints procedure and will give you a copy of their complaints policy, so you know what to do. There are 2 stages for all other complaints: Stage 1 The people who run the service will answer your complaint working with our Customer Relations Team. We will try to find a solution. To contact us with a Stage 1 complaint you can: [email protected] Phone: This is our main number. It lets you choose the service you want. Text relay:

8 Write: Customer Relations, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR Visit: A community hub or contact point (see pages 15 and 16 for details). We will tell you that we have your complaint in 3 working days (Monday to Friday). We will look into it. We will then tell you in 10 working days by phone, or letter what we have done to make things right. We will tell you the reason if we cannot get back to you right away. We will also give you a date when we will reply. Stage 2 With Stage 2 you can take your complaint further if you are not happy with what happened at Stage 1. Our Customer Relations Team will tell you it has got your complaint in 3 working days. 8

9 We will look into what has happened so far. We will answer you in 10 working days by phone, or letter to say what we have done to make things right. We will tell you the reason if we cannot get back to you right away. We will also give you a date when we will reply. To contact us with a Stage 2 complaint you can: [email protected] Phone: Text relay: Write: Customer Relations, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR You can also contact your local councillor at any time (full list on website: Or ask another person or organisation to contact us for you. This might be your MP or a community group. 9

10 What you can do if you are not happy We want to sort out any worries you have quickly and fairly. But you may want to take things further if you are not happy with how we handled your complaint or with our response. You can contact your Local Government Ombudsman for advice or to make a complaint: Phone: or (Monday: 8.30am-5pm; Tuesday to Friday: 8.30am-9.30am and 10.30am-5pm) Text: (Text call back ) Fax: Write: The Local Government Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH Website: 10

11 Freedom of Information The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives you the right to ask us for any information we have. We must give it to you in 28 days or tell you why this is not possible. You can also ask us for all the personal information we have about you. The Data Protection Act tells us how we should deal with this kind of request. Write: Customer Relations, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TR Complaints about Freedom of Information requests If you are not happy with how we handled your Freedom of Information complaint or with our response, please contact us: 11

12 Phone: Text relay: This is our main number. It lets you choose the service you want. If you stay on the phone you will be able to speak to someone in customer services. Write: Customer Relations, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR You will need to give us: All the details of your complaint. Your Freedom of Information reference number.? Please tell us if you would like our reply by or letter. We will tell you that we have got your complaint in 3 working days. 12

13 We will look into it and give you our answer in 28 days. We will tell you the reason if we cannot get back to you right away. We will also give you a date when we will reply. If you are still not happy you can contact the Information Commissioner: Write: The Information Commissioner s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, Cheshire, SK9 5AF Phone: (If you do not want to phone this 03 number call or if you are overseas.) Fax: [email protected] Website: 13

14 Contacting Medway Council Website: Phone: Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm, Saturday 9am - 1pm: Call about rubbish, recycling, roads, parks and open spaces, environmental services, student services. Call about council tax, business rates and benefits. Call about any other council services. Minicom: TextRelay: Write: Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR 14

15 Community Hubs and Contact Points 1. Chatham Community Hub, Chatham Library, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TX Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 9am 5pm Tuesday: 10am 5pm Saturday: 9am 1pm 2. Chatham Riverside One, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4SL (housing benefits, general housing, council tax, business rates only). Monday to Thursday: 8.30am 5.15pm Friday: 8.30am 4.45pm Saturday: Closed 3. Gillingham Community Hub, Gillingham Library, High Street, Gillingham, ME7 1BG Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 9am 5pm Tuesday: 10am 5pm Saturday: 9am 1pm 15

16 4. Rainham Contact Point, 1-3 Station Rd, Rainham, ME8 7RS Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9am 5pm Wednesday: 9am 7.30pm Saturday: 9am 1pm Please note that Rainham Contact Point includes Kent Police services. 5. Rochester Community Hub, Rochester Library, Adult Education Centre, High Street, Rochester, ME1 1EW Monday to Friday: 9am 5pm Saturday: 10am 1pm 6. Strood Contact Point, Civic Centre, Strood, ME2 4EU Monday to Thursday: 8.30am 5.15pm Friday: 8.30am 4.45pm Saturday: 9am 1pm Please note that Strood Contact Point includes Kent Police services. 16

17 Compliments Ideas Complaints You can use this page to tell us about: What you think of our services. Any worry or question you have about our services. Please fill in this page and page 18. Then tear the page out and send it to: Customer Relations, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR Name: Address: Phone: Date: 17

18 Information about you To help us give a better service to all our customers, please tell us about yourself. Tick 1 box only for numbers 1-6. I am: 1. White 2. Mixed British White and black Caribbean Irish White and black African Any other white background White and Asian Please say which: Another mixed background Please say which: 3. Asian Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Any other Asian background Please say which: 4. Black Caribbean African Any other black background Please say which: 5. Chinese 6. Other Ethnic Group Chinese Please say which: 7. Sex Man 8. Age Woman Under

19 Useful phone numbers If you do not know which office or contact point to go to for a service, contact us before you visit: Phone: TextRelay: If you want the information in this leaflet in another format: Phone: TextRelay: Strood Clocktower, Civic Centre, Strood, ME2 4AU Rochester Rochester Community Hub, Eastgate, Rochester ME1 1EW Chatham Chatham Community Hub, Chatham Library, Chatham Riverside ME4 4TX Chatham Riverside One, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TX Gillingham Gillingham Contact Point, Gillingham Library, High Street, Gillingham, ME7 1BG Rainham station Rainham Rainham Contact Point, 1-3 Station Road, Rainham, ME8 7RS If you have any questions about this leaflet and would like to speak to someone in your own language: Phone: