We are committed to providing the best possible standard of service. However, we realise that sometimes things can go wrong and that is the time you want to be able to contact us to put things right.

Most concerns or problems can be resolved informally by contacting the service in question. If you are still unhappy, a formal complaint can be made.

You can make your complaint:

• Online
• In person at any Council office or Trafford library
• By calling 0161 912 1137
• By writing to The Corporate Complaints Team, Trafford Council, Waterside House, Sale, M33 7ZF

You Will receive a verbal, email or written acknowledgement within 3 working days of Trafford Council receiving your complaint.

You should receive a response within 20 working days of receiving your acknowledgement. If there are any delays you will receive a 'holding letter' letting you know when you should receive our response.

There are 3 stages to the complaints procedure. At the first stage your complaint will be dealt with informally 'there and then'. If this is not possible your complaint will be escalated to the more formal stages, 2 and 3.

Every Service has a Complaints Co-ordinator. If you send your complaint direct to the Service it will go to them and then to the Investigating Officer nominated by them.

If you send your complaint to customer services (Access Trafford) it will be acknowledged, entered on to the relevant computer system and redirected to the relevant Co-ordinator to generate a full response.

If you are unhappy with the response you receive and you simply require further information, you can contact the Officer who investigated your complaint directly.

Alternatively you can request a review of the complaint (known as a Stage 3 review) within 6 weeks of receiving your initial response.

The Local Government Ombudsman is an independent service set up by the government to investigate complaints about most council matters. You can complain to the ombudsman at any time.

If you have a problem with a council service, you should first complain to the council. However, if you are still not satisfied the Ombudsman may be able to help.

You can ask for a leaflet at any council office or visit www.lgo.org.uk or contact the Ombudsman advice line on 0845 602 1983.