Making a complaint to Dorset Council

First, a complaint is not the same as a report. A pothole, a missed bin, a planning objection or a noisy neighbour is a report, and it goes to the service concerned (see Report a problem). A complaint is for when the council has done something wrong, or not done something it should have, and you want it looked into. The council will not treat these as complaints, because they have their own routes: missed bins, highways maintenance, planning appeals and enforcement, freedom of information requests, insurance claims, parking fines, council tax appeals, housing benefit and environmental health cases.

Try the team first. The council's policy asks you to raise it informally with the service before you go formal, and it is worth a try.

Since May 2026 Dorset Council has run a one stage complaints process. You put your complaint in, they acknowledge it within 3 working days, and a team manager in the service replies in full within 20 working days. If they need longer they have to tell you the new date. There is no second stage. In the policy's own words, "we will not offer a second response if you disagree with the outcome." If you are not satisfied, the next step is the Ombudsman.

You have to complain within 12 months of the thing you are complaining about, though the council can extend that.

How to send it: the online form on the council's self service site. Complaints sent by email are not accepted; you get a reply pointing you to the form. If you cannot use the form, ring the Complaints Team on 01305 221061 and they will arrange something else. You can also write, without a stamp, to Complaints Team, Freepost, Business Reply Licence RRYH-AGJZ-TRGG, Colliton Park, Dorchester DT1 1XJ.

It helps to put in what happened and when, who you dealt with, any reference numbers from earlier reports, what you have already done to sort it out, and what you want the council to do about it. Keep it short, keep copies, and note the dates, because the 12 month limit and the 20 day clock both turn on them.

A complaint about a councillor's behaviour is different. That goes under the code of conduct policy, which has its own page on the council website.

The Ombudsman. If the council's answer does not settle it, or you have heard nothing after 20 working days, you can go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. It is free and independent of the council. Complain online at complaints.lgo.org.uk or ring 0300 061 0614 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday between 10am and 1pm, or Wednesday between 1pm and 4pm. Post goes to PO Box 4771, Coventry CV4 0EH. The Ombudsman normally wants you to have finished the council's own process first, so keep the council's final reply. It looks at how the council handled your case and whether that has left you worse off; it is not an appeal against a decision the council was entitled to make.

Complaints form, 01305 221061, Council complaints page, Ombudsman complaint form, 0300 061 0614

See also Village lifeReport a problemWhen something goes wrong