Making a complaint

Here is information on our three step complaints process.

• Step 1: What happens when I make a complaint?
• Step 2: I'm still not satisfied. What should I do now?
• Step 3: I would like to take my complaint further
• Other ways to complain

Step 1: What happens when I make a complaint?

We will send you a letter telling you that we have received your complaint. We will aim to send you this letter within two working days.

We will aim to give you a full reply within 28 days (we will respond sooner if we can but firefighters' shift patterns may make it difficult to progress complaints any quicker).The response will be from a senior manager or the head of the relevant section.

If we cannot give a complete answer, or if your complaint is complex, we will tell you what we are doing to investigate your complaint and how long we expect it to take.

If your complaint falls under a special procedure (for example, a disciplinary or legal procedure) we will tell you.

If we consider that your complaint is justified, we will apologise and let you know what we can do to put things right. If we feel that your complaint is not justified we will tell you why.

When you make your complaint, one of our officers will investigate the problem. You will be given the name and phone number of a contact officer who can explain our complaints procedure and if required, guide and assist you.

Use the online form to make your complaint.

Step 2 - I'm still not satisfied. What should I do now?

If you make a complaint to us and you are not happy with our reply, you can take things a step further and ask your contact officer to arrange for a review to take place.

We will send you a reply to this further investigation within 28 days from the head of the relevant department.

We will acknowledge your request within two working days of your contacting us.

A more senior manager will carry out a further investigation of your complaint.

Step 3: I would like to take my complaint further

Here is what to do if you make a complaint to us and are still not happy after going through the firs two stages of our complaints procedure.

We hope that we will be able to resolve most complaints at steps 1 or 2 but if you are still unhappy with our reply, you can ask the Commissioner for Fire and Emeregency Planning for a review of the case. Your contact officer will arrange this for you.

Your case will be reviewed by an officer from the Commissioner's office. We will send you a reply within 28 days from the Commssioner. We will acknowledge your request within two working days of you contacting us.

Other ways to complain

There are two other ways to make your complaint.

The Authority: The London Fire Brigade is run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) who are elected members so can be contacted at any time. If you would like to write to a member you can ring Democratic Services on 020 8555 1200, extn: 30082 who will be glad to provide you with their names. You can write to elected members at:

London Fire Brigade Headquarters
169 Union Street
London SE1 0LL

Local Government Ombudsman: For most matters you can also complain to the Local Government Ombudsman at any time. S/he may carry out an independent investigation of your complaint. However the Ombudsman will usually only consider your complaint once you have been through our complaints procedure.

For more information about the Ombudsman, visit their website at http://www.lgo.org.uk/ or contact them at:

The Local Government Ombudsman
10th Floor Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
t: 020 7217 4620 (adviceline: 0845 602 1983)
f: 020 7217 4621
e: enquiries@lgo.org.uk

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