• Forging a complainant's signature. 

Data protection/breach of confidentiality

• Information being disclosed to a third party without the complainant's consent. 

Delay

• Taking an unreasonable amount of time to carry out a specific task. 

Discrimination

• The complainant makes a claim of discrimination by the lawyer. This will be referred to the approved regulator. 

Failure to advise

• Legal advice, which would reasonably be expected, was not given.

Failure to comply with agreed remedy

• After agreeing to a remedy to resolve a complaint, the remedy has not been implemented. This can be a remedy agreed with or without the involvement of the Legal Ombudsman or a predecessor complaints handling body.


Failure to follow instructions

• Failure to follow a specific instruction or request from the complainant.


Failure to investigate complaint internally

• Failure to provide details of their internal complaints procedure. 
• Delay in responding to the complaint. 
• Only responding to part of the complaint. 

Failure to keep informed

• Failing to keep the complainant informed of progress. 

Failure to keep papers safe

• Loss of specific documents or a file. 
• Damage to specific documents or a file. 
• Loss of property. 
• Damage to property. 

Failure to progress

• Failure to act as would reasonably be expected to move a complainant's case forward. 

Failure to release files or papers

• Refusal or failing to release files or papers. 

Failure to reply

• Failure to respond to telephone calls, emails or letters. 

Potential misconduct

• The complaint is about a potential breach of the professional rules of conduct. A potential misconduct complaint will often be accompanied by another complaint type concerning service that can be investigated. 

Other

• If the complaint raised does not fall into one of the above categories, this option is used. 






(1)   Dissatisfaction with the way Council policies are carried out.
(2)   Failure to consider relevant matters in coming to a decision, or with action taken in   
       implementing that decision.
(3)   Complaints regarding conduct and the actions of individual employees.
(4)   Delays in responding, or complaints about the administrative process.
(5)   Failure to provide a service.
(6)   Failure to achieve standards/ quality of service.
(7)   Failure to fulfil statutory responsibilities.
(8)   Bias or unfair discrimination.

Exclusions
The following types of complaints will be excluded from the Official Complaints Procedure:-

(a)   Complaints which are essentially criticisms or disagreements of Council policies or   
       decisions in themselves, rather than the way they have been carried out.
(b)   Complaints against individual employees which arise directly from the customer's
       dissatisfaction with a Council policy or decision, and where no other basis for the
       complaint exists.
(c)   A Planning or Development Control matter, or Housing Benefit, or Homelessness matter
       where a right of objection exists, unless the complaint relates specifically to the way 
       the matter has been administered.
(d)   A decision of the Council where regulatory powers are being exercised unless the
       complaint relates specifically to the way the matter has been administered.
(e)   A matter which is, or could reasonably expect to be, the subject of court or tribunal
       proceedings, or which is in the hands of the Council's insurers.
(f)   Complaints which constitute a disagreement with or refusal to accept a rule of law
       which the Council is applying.

The Full Council's Complaints Procedure is available in PDF Format  (approx size 26kb).

Making a Formal Complaint
We are sorry if your complaint cannot not be resolved to your satisfaction when you first contact Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council.
 
If your complaint has been dealt with previously by the department concerned and you believe that it qualifies under one of the categories of complaint (above), you can either:-
 
(a)  Complete a Complaint Form available for download below:- 
      (Complaints form in Adobe Acrobat format suitable for printing (approx size 39Kb)). 
      You can also collect a Complaint Form from the Town Hall Reception, the Cemetery
      Office and the Housing Department, Cavendish House, Barrow and return it to us.

    
 
The Procedure

If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, please include their name and address. If you are sending any documents or previous correspondence, please indicate whether or not you wish these to be returned to you.
 
On receiving the form, the Democratic Services Officer will send you an acknowledgement within three working days. You will then receive a full reply within ten working days of the acknowledgement date from the Officer responsible for the service which your complaint is about. If a reply is likely to take longer than this, you will be informed as to when a reply can be expected.
 
If you are not satisfied with the reply to your complaint, you should write again, as soon as possible, explaining why you are not satisfied with the Council's reply and whether you wish your complaint to be further investigated.
 
We will investigate your complaint in a fair and equitable way to achieve a satisfactory solution to the problem. However, if this is not possible or if you are unhappy with the Council's procedure, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman who may undertake an independent investigation on your behalf. Please ask if you would like further information.
 
You may also wish to raise your complaint with one of our local Councillors. We will be pleased to advise you who your local Councillors are and how to contact them.
 
You may wish to raise your complaint with one of your local Councillors,
or,
You may complain now on-line.
 
 
Help with making a Complaint
If you feel you need independent or legal advice, one of the organisations listed on the Community Legal Services page may be able to help you.

 
Ombudsman

Response Time