Barking & Dagenham Help

WHAT CAN YOU DO

We believe that every effort should be made by you to ensure that you are getting a professional and sympathetic service you expect. We therefore believe that the follow measures should be carried out, before any further action is made.

Listed below are some simple things that you can do in order to help Barking & Dagenham provide a better service to its community. None are harsh or illegally but simple commonsense. Most requires no-more then simple written tasks and remembering to do something may sound silly, but if you have read our examples you will save yourself alot of time. If once completed and you are still not satisfied , more involved methods are available.

WE HOPE YOU NEVER GET TO THOSE.

The following suggestions are general and not specific to any one situation. We do believe they should be followed simply to Support & Confirm your application incase anything goes wrong in the future.

1)

MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT OFFICE/DEPARTMENT.

a

b

Enquire at the reception/front counter.Explain your needs and get the name of the person who directed you.
If once in the queue and you find out you were misinformed DON'T make a scene. Politely inform the next line manager of this persons mistake. Get that persons name and record it for future reference.

2)

APPLICATIONS/FORMS COMPLETION

a

b

c

d

Make sure you read the forms completely and answer all the questions accurately.
Supply all the requested information at the same time.

PHOTOCOPY every piece of information supplied. (incase it gets lost)

If you hand it in to the Reception make sure it is addressed to the right Person and Department. Don't assume the Office will know where an individual works. They could of moved , be on holiday or quite simply may just not know.

GET A RECEIPT from the office. Generally you are logged in as visiting, make sure this happens. If not you can get the person taking your documents to sign a form you have made detailing exactly what is being submitted.
Try and hand it to the person who will deal with your application and confirm in writing that everything is in order. If you just hand it to the reception, attach a covering letter requesting that you be informed immediately if anything is missing or not correct.

3)

FOLLOW UP

a

b

After a week, follow up your request with a letter posted to the individual at the office. This letter will be basically stating that you assume that everything is correct with your application and if not please contact you at your address.
If after a fortnight you have not heard anything you will need to do one or more of the following items.
Write another letter detailing your concern of not hearing from anyone.
Phone the Office and ask to speak to the person dealing with your application.
Phone to make an appointment to see the person dealing with your application.

4)

PHONE CALLS

a
b
c
d
e
f
g

Always ask to whom you are speaking to , most are willing tell you.
If not make a comment as to why they will not tell you.
Log the Date and Time of your call.
Log the Time and Day they said they would call you back.
If they do not call you back ask why and log the reason.
Always be polite, never shout or show you are annoyed.
If possible record the length of time you were on the phone for. Start this from the very moment you picked up the phone to the time you hang up.

5)

TIRED OF WAITING

This has to be at your discretion , we can't tell you how long it should take , obviously each case is different. What we can say and what we do expect is Acknowledgement.
Write a stern letter indicating your dissatisfaction with The Councils Service.
Detail your reports one by one. ie: (how many times you've written or phoned.)
Insist that you get a response to this letter.

6)

STILL WAITING

COUNCILS CONTACTS

COUNCILS OFFICIAL COMPLAINT FORM

6 POINTS TO REMEMBER--ALWAYS

1

MAKE PHOTO-COPIES OF EVERYTHING SUBMITTED.

2

GET A PERSONS NAME.

3

LOG TIMES AND DATES OF COMMUNICATIONS.

4

GET THE OFFICE TO LOG YOU AS VISITING.

5

GET EVERYTHING SUBMITTED SIGNED FOR.

6

BE CALM AND POLITE NO MATTER HOW ANGRY YOU ARE.

We have mentioned on several occasions for you to get the name of the person who you spoke to.This is not to pass blame or to expect a punishment, it is simple to identify who passed the wrong information so that they can be trained correctly, needless to say we all make mistakes and the person could be a new employee, what we are after is that this person does not make the same mistake again and to identify training requirements.

We hope that on all occasions, your matter will be dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible. You may not find the need to perform all the above tasks , we hope you don't. But if you find that you are being ignored, constantly being misled, misinformed, have genuine dissatisfaction with the service that is being delivered and your log sheets are showing the same common mistakes or bad performance then click below for further solutions.

CONTINUE

1)	MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT OFFICE/DEPARTMENT.
a b	Enquire at the reception/front counter.Explain your needs and get the name of the person who directed you. If once in the queue and you find out you were misinformed DON'T make a scene. Politely inform the next line manager of this persons mistake. Get that persons name and record it for future reference.
2)	APPLICATIONS/FORMS COMPLETION
a b c d	Make sure you read the forms completely and answer all the questions accurately. Supply all the requested information at the same time. PHOTOCOPY every piece of information supplied. (incase it gets lost) If you hand it in to the Reception make sure it is addressed to the right Person and Department. Don't assume the Office will know where an individual works. They could of moved , be on holiday or quite simply may just not know. GET A RECEIPT from the office. Generally you are logged in as visiting, make sure this happens. If not you can get the person taking your documents to sign a form you have made detailing exactly what is being submitted. Try and hand it to the person who will deal with your application and confirm in writing that everything is in order. If you just hand it to the reception, attach a covering letter requesting that you be informed immediately if anything is missing or not correct.
3)	FOLLOW UP
a b	After a week, follow up your request with a letter posted to the individual at the office. This letter will be basically stating that you assume that everything is correct with your application and if not please contact you at your address. If after a fortnight you have not heard anything you will need to do one or more of the following items. Write another letter detailing your concern of not hearing from anyone. Phone the Office and ask to speak to the person dealing with your application. Phone to make an appointment to see the person dealing with your application.
4)	PHONE CALLS
a b c d e f g	Always ask to whom you are speaking to , most are willing tell you. If not make a comment as to why they will not tell you. Log the Date and Time of your call. Log the Time and Day they said they would call you back. If they do not call you back ask why and log the reason. Always be polite, never shout or show you are annoyed. If possible record the length of time you were on the phone for. Start this from the very moment you picked up the phone to the time you hang up.

5)	TIRED OF WAITING
	This has to be at your discretion , we can't tell you how long it should take , obviously each case is different. What we can say and what we do expect is Acknowledgement. Write a stern letter indicating your dissatisfaction with The Councils Service. Detail your reports one by one. ie: (how many times you've written or phoned.) Insist that you get a response to this letter.
6)	STILL WAITING
	COUNCILS CONTACTS
	COUNCILS OFFICIAL COMPLAINT FORM



	6 POINTS TO REMEMBER--ALWAYS

1	*MAKE PHOTO-COPIES OF EVERYTHING SUBMITTED.*
2	*GET A PERSONS NAME.*
3	*LOG TIMES AND DATES OF COMMUNICATIONS.*
4	*GET THE OFFICE TO LOG YOU AS VISITING.*
5	*GET EVERYTHING SUBMITTED SIGNED FOR.*
6	BE CALM AND POLITE NO MATTER HOW ANGRY YOU ARE.