Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

The Local Services Point promise to customers

Whatever the service, whichever way they contact us, we promise our customers to:

• Deal with enquiries in a friendly, helpful and courteous manner;
• Treat everyone equally and without discrimination;
• Provide accurate and timely information and advice;
• Treat any information given to us or held by us sensitively and discreetly, respecting any confidentiality;
• Meet the targets set out in our service standards;
• Treat any comments and complaints about our services seriously and handle them in a positive way.

The services we provide

Our Local Service Points provide access to and information and advice on all of the services provided by the District, County, Town and Parish Councils and local government agencies and voluntary organisations. We will take responsibility for the customer and their enquiry and do our utmost to follow each enquiry through to a satisfactory conclusion. We cover:

• All telephone calls to our switchboard number 01235 520202 (either for immediate resolution or redirection);
• All personal callers at our Local Service Points at Abbey House, Abingdon and our Wantage one stop shop;
• All personal payments by cash or cheque at Abbey House and the Wantage one stop shop.
  

Responding to Customers  

Corporate standards for responding to enquiries via letter, email, telephone or personal visit are set out in the Council’s Customer Service Charter. The Local Service Points also have additional standards for the way in which we deal with customers, as set out below.

Enquiries that can be resolved by the Local Service Points

• Resolve 99 per cent of enquiries from personal callers within one working day, and if unable to do so resolve the enquiry as fast as possible and keep the customer informed at every stage.
• Answer 90 per cent of telephone calls to the switchboard within 20 seconds and transfer to the appropriate extension immediately;
• Messages left by customers to receive an initial response within one working day
• Ensure no more than 4 per cent of telephone calls are unanswered
• Ensure at least 95 per cent customer satisfaction levels;
• Ensure visitors for other officers of the council are provided with a security badge, and the relevant officer notified of their arrival within 15 minutes of presenting to the Local Services Point.

Enquiries that are outside the responsibility of the Local Service Points

• Appointments made immediately for customers entitled to see other officers of the council within the bounds of any Service Level Agreement.
• Forward e-mails to relevant service area within one working day. 

Help Us to Help You!

Customers can help the Council to deliver the best possible service by:

• Being aware of any relevant service standards (for example, turnaround times on applications);
• Keeping us informed of any relevant changes in your circumstances;
• Responding to letters and any requests for further information or documentation in the timescales requested;
• Treating our staff with respect and courtesy.

Customer Behaviour

Our staff are committed to providing the best possible service for customers, and we believe that in return our staff have a right to be treated courteously and with respect.

The Council will not tolerate instances of verbal, written or physical harrassment or abuse of its staff. The Council will record such incidents and may report incidents to the police. We retain the right, where we consider customer actions to be unacceptable, to change, restrict or refuse access to our services.

Comments, Complaints and Suggestions

The Council recognizes that communication is a two-way process and operates a procedure that encourages comments, complaints and suggestions to enable service improvement. Whichever method you use to contact us with a complaint, it will be dealt with in the same way.

A full written reply will be sent within seven working days or, if your complaint is complicated, you will be sent a reply or progress report within 28 days.

If you are unhappy about our reply to your complaint, you can write to the Chief Executive at the Council using the Freepost address.

If, after following the Council's procedure you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can refer it to the Local Government Ombudsman. We can supply you with the contact details on request.