Complaints and Appeals Procedure
Kilkenny Local Authorities Complaints and Appeals Procedure
Our Commitment to Quality Customer Services
In Kilkenny Local Authorities, we are committed to providing you with a high quality service. The standards of service which you can expect are set out in our Customer Charter and Customer Action Plan
We work hard to maintain and improve the standard of service we provide and to keep errors to a minimum. However, we recognise that mistakes or delays will occasionally occur.
If you are not satisfied with the service we provide, you should let us know so that we can work at improving this. We welcome your feedback and will deal with your complaints in confidence. We value your suggestions on how things might be improved and compliments on a job well done as well as complaints.
COMPLAINTS
This leaflet sets out our procedures for dealing with complaints.
It tells you:
what issues are covered by the procedure
what issues are not covered
how to make a complaint
what information to provide
the standard we have set for dealing with complaints
what it will cost
what you can do if you are not happy with our response to your complaint.
WHAT ISSUES ARE COVERED?
This complaints procedure concerns complaints about issues such as delays, mistakes, poor customer service instances where you did not receive the quality of service you feel you are entitled to.
WHAT ISSUSES ARE NOT COVERED?
There are separate procedures in place in respect of complaints/appeals relating to decisions on planning applications, or appeals against decisions made under freedom of information legislation.
HOW DO I MAKE A COMPLAINT?
Any individual, company, organisation or association may make a complaint and the steps are as follows:
1. In the first instance, the complaint should be brought to the attention of our staff in the office concerned, either orally or in writing. The staff there will try to resolve your complaint without delay.
2. If your complaint cannot be resolved by our staff, or if you are unhappy with the response you received, you should contact the Senior Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs, who will arrange for your complaint to be investigated. Complaints may be made either orally or in writing to:
Senior Executive Officer
Corporate Affairs
Kilkenny County Council
Johns Street
Kilkenny
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD I PROVIDE?
Your name and address
Reason for your complaint and what exactly you are dissatisfied with please give as much information as possible, including any relevant supporting documentation.
The name of the office, and if appropriate, the staff member(s) with whom you were dealing with.
What results do you wish to achieve through this complaint, or have you any suggestions as to how the matter should be remedied
Have you already contacted the service area concerned in order to secure redress, if yes, please provide details.
A day time telephone number, if you would be happy for us to contact you by phone- this may help us to resolve the matter more quickly.
If your complaint is complicated, you may find it best to put it in writing so that no details get overlooked. Remember to send us all relevant documentation or correspondence that you may have.
Our Standards for Dealing with Complaints.
- We will treat your complaint properly, fairly and impartially.
- We promise that making a complaint will have no implications for your dealings and contact with the Kilkenny Local Authorities.
- A Staff member of the Kilkenny Local Authorities other than those involved in the original decision or action will carefully examine your complaint.
- Correspondence about your complaint will be filed separately from other information held about you in the Kilkenny Local Authorities.
- An acknowledgement will be issued within five working days
- In General, we will examine and review your complaint and send a reply to you within 28 days of receipt of your complaint. Where it is not possible to meet this target, we will inform you and continue to do so until the matter is resolved.
- We will apologise for any mistake, explain what happened and put it right wherever possible.
- We will change our procedures to ensure that we do better in the future.
What will it cost?
Nothing. There is no charge for making a complaint and we will not charge you for dealing with the complaint.
What you can do if you are not happy with our response to your complaint?
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint or the matter in which it was handled, you may pursue the matter further with the Ombudsman.
The office of the Ombudsman was set up to examine complaints from members of the public who feel that they have been unfairly treated in their dealings with bodies such as Government Departments, Local Authorities and Health Boards. The ombudsman may be contacted at:
Office for the Ombudsman
18 Lower Leeson Street
Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 6395600 Fax: (01) 6395674
Locall: 1890 22 30 30 (for callers outside of the Dublin area)
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie Website: www.ombudsman.ie
The Customer Charter, Complaint Procedure and Customer Action Plan is available in MS Word. Download