Complaints About Our Standards of Service

We strive to provide excellent and improving services, recognising that we can always do better. We also want to be open and responsive, listening to your needs and addressing them as quickly as possible. The nature and level of services will depend on the resources available to the Council. The quality of services depends on how well we do our job.

Can your complaint be resolved informally:

We encourage you to first raise your complaint directly and informally with the staff member or service department you have been dealing with. Please note that the Council is not responsible for the Dartford Crossing and/or Dart Charge related issues - complaints are to be referred to National Highways. Complaints related to highway issues, such as overgrowing vegetation, potholes, street lighting etc., are to be referred to Kent County Council.

If you have not been dealing with anyone or do not know who to contact about your complaint, you should call our Customer Services on 01322 343434. We welcome calls via Relay UK

  1. Formal complaints procedure and form
  2. Read about the three stages of our complaints procedure
  3. Help and advice on complaints procedure
  4. Stage Two Review of complaints (relating to data protection, freedom of information, environmental information and re-use of information)
  5. Fluency Duty - A complaint that an employee in a customer - facing role has insufficient proficiency in spoken English for the performance of their role
  6. Complaints relating to the Council's landlord functions
  7. Most commonly raised complaints that are not within the remit of our Complaints Procedure
  8. Policy on Unreasonably Persistent and/or Vexatious Complainants

See our Complaints Process Privacy Notice


How to complain

Our formal complaints procedure - Your complaint must be about something specific. You must tell us what you believe we have done wrong, how this has affected you and what you think we should do to put things right.

Stages of the corporate complaints procedure

The three stages of our complaints procedure - Describe your complaint as fully and clearly as possible, telling us which members of staff, contractors or service you have dealt with (the complaint form will guide you through the process).

Help and advice on corporate complaints procedure

For advice on procedure, contact the Corporate Complaints Officer on 01322 343434

Stage two review of a DPA, EIR and FOI decision

If you are dissatisfied with our response on your initial application, you can ask for a Stage Two review of our decision.

Most commonly raised complaints that are not within the remit of our procedure

Most commonly raised complaints that are not within the remit of Dartford Borough Councils complaints procedure

Complaints relating to alleged breaches of the Member Code of Conduct

Codes of conduct - The Council is required to adopt 'Arrangements' for dealing with complaints alleging code of conduct breaches

Complaints relating to the Council's landlord functions

Complaints about the Council's landlord functions are considered by the Housing Ombudsman, rather the Local Government Ombudsman. There may however be some overlap between the jurisdictions of the two Ombudsmen.

Insurance Claims

The Council operates a number of insurance policies in relation to Council owned property, public liability etc. This does not include claims arising from damage/injuries caused by any defect in the public highway, which is the responsibility of Kent County Council.

Fluency Duty

A customer- facing role is where an employee, apprentice and/or agency worker has as a regular and intrinsic part of that role, a requirement to speak to members of the public in English.