Complaints

Overview

Before you make a complaint

If you are reporting something for the first time, for example, telling us about a pothole or a missed bin, this is not classed as a complaint. We must have had the chance to provide the service or put something right. We can only do this if we’ve received a request or been told about a problem.

You can request a service using the relevant service page. If you do this, your request goes straight to the right department, and we can deal with it faster.

Some examples of things which are service requests and not complaints:

What we consider to be a complaint

A complaint is where you are unhappy with the standard of a service, actions, or lack of actions by us and our staff. Some examples are where:

  • we did not deliver a service on time
  • we gave incorrect information
  • we wrongly or inconsistently applied a council policy
  • we failed to consult properly with, or listen to you on issues that affect you
  • you receive a poor quality or inappropriate service
  • you are unhappy with the actions or conduct of a member of staff

So, for example, if you report your neighbours for making a noise and we fail to investigate it, then we would handle this as a complaint.

How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint via the online form.

Make a complaint

You can also write to us at:

Corporate Complaints Manager, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Town Hall, King William Street, BB1 7DY

Complaints we deal with separately

Some types of complaints we deal with separately:

Feedback

Sometimes you might not want to complain about a specific service, but you might want to give us some feedback.

Giving us feedback helps us to:

  • continuously improve the standard of service
  • understand when things have gone particularly well
  • put things right when they have gone wrong
  • learn from our mistakes

Find out how to give us your feedback.