We welcome your feedback, suggestions & comments about the content of this site – please email the Central London Forward team.
The City of London Corporation is the nominated accountable body for Central London Forward. For most complaints you will therefore need to email the complaints team.
Complaints are dealt with through a simple three-stage process.
If we don’t have all the information we need to deal with a complaint we will have to contact you to request it. This adds to the time taken to resolve it, so before you make a complaint take a little time if you can to prepare what it is you want to say. Be specific and focus on the issue – what, why, when, where, who – and briefly explain all the relevant circumstances surrounding your complaint.
Stage one
Usually, the best people to deal with a complaint are those who provide the service – please contact them first. They will try to sort out the problem as quickly as possible – mistakes and misunderstandings can often be sorted out on the spot. Once you have made your complaint you can expect a full response within 10 working days. If we aren’t able to deal with your complaint in full within this time we will contact you to advise you of the delay and to let you know when you can expect a full response.
Stage two
If you are not happy with the outcome from stage 1, you can take the matter further. Contact the Complaints Coordinator, who will arrange a review of your complaint by the Chief Officer of the department, or a nominated senior officer. Again you can expect a full response within 10 working days or we will contact you to advise you of the delay and to let you know when you can expect a full response.
Stage three
If you are still unhappy after the stage two investigation, you can re-contact the Complaints Coordinator. The final review and response will be undertaken by the Town Clerk & Chief Executive, or a senior officer acting on his/her behalf and will be a completely independent investigation of your complaint. In your letter you should outline the circumstances and details of your complaint and the action you wish the City of London to take. As for the previous stages you can expect a full response within 10 working days or we will contact you to advise of the delay and to let you know when you can expect a full response.
If the stage three review doesn’t resolve your complaint and you want to take it further you will need to contact the Local Government Ombudsman.
If after any stage you don’t get back to us within four weeks of our response to you we will consider that you have been satisfied with the response you have received. We would not normally deal with a complaint under our process if it is being dealt with or was previously dealt with by legal proceedings.
Local Government Ombudsman
The Local Government Ombudsman provides an independent service which will investigate any sort of complaint about the authority. You can complain to the Ombudsman at any time, but they will usually ask the Council to investigate the matter first if it has not already gone through our complaints procedure. A leaflet giving advice on how to complain can be downloaded from the Ombudsman’s website or obtained by contacting the office.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Website (external link)
You can write to the Ombudsman or ring them direct:
The Local Government Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry CV4 0EH
Helpline number 0300 061 0614
