How to send us a complaint or feedback

This is the best way to send us complaint or feedback. Using these forms ensures we collect all the information we need, and sends this straight to the relevant council service. Please note that if you wish to request a service, such as a missed bin collection, you should contact the appropriate service before making a complaint.

Using AI to help you with your complaint

We understand that not everyone feels confident writing things down or explaining what has happened. Some people are using AI tools to help structure or write their complaint. That’s okay but it’s important to use it carefully.

AI can cause its own problems, because it:

• can make mistakes
• can make problems much larger and complex than they need to be
• can mean problems take longer to respond to
• can introduce facts that are not correct
• can refer to laws and regulations that do not exist, or misinterpret those that do
• can mask people’s vulnerabilities and hide what really matters to you
• can lose your personal voice and experience 

The best way to communicate a complaint

Complaints written in simple, clear terms will always be quicker and easier to understand and therefore to reply to. We prefer to hear from our residents directly, in their own words, about how they have been affected. 

If we’re not clear what you mean, we’ll get in touch to ensure we understand what the problem is. All complaints are considered equally on merit, however they are 
written or submitted.

Which way is best?

The quickest way to write a complaint is to include:

• what happened
• when it happened
• how it affected you
• what would you like to happen now

If you do decide to use AI, please:

• remove anything that looks incorrect or overly complex
• read it through carefully to ensure it is accurate before you submit it to us
• focus on you and your experiences, and the impact they had on you
• remember that AI tools may store or use the information you enter to train their model
• be aware your data may be processed outside the UK
• submit original images - please do not submit AI altered images

Suggested prompts (if you would like to use AI)

You can copy and paste these into your AI Tool to help:

• Structure my complaint: help me organise what happened on [date] into a clear structure. Here are the details [add facts and details]. Put them in clear 
  order. Only use information provided.
• Keep it factual: turn these points into clear sentences [list issues]. Only include facts. Do not add legal references or assumptions.
• Keep my voice: rewrite this in simple, clear language while keeping my tone: [text].
• Explain the impact: help me explain how this affected me. Here are the details [impacts]. Keep it clear and linked to what happened.
• Final version: rewrite this as a clear, polite complaint. Do not add new facts. Keep it concise and non-legal.

Other ways to complain or give us feedback

You can write to us at:

Your Feedback
Lewisham Council,
Laurence House,
1 Catford Road,
London SE6 4RU

You can submit a paper complaint in person at any of our sites, or complain in an email or phone call to any officer (normally an officer you are already dealing with). 

We also accept complaints made by phone to our switchboard, 020 8314 8090. Customers with difficulty speaking or hearing on the phone can use Relay UK with an app or textphone – dial 18001 followed by 020 8314 8090.

We want to hear how you feel about our services 

• comments - we want to hear your suggestions and ideas about services

• complaints - if you are unhappy with something we have done that has not been resolved you can complain. We want to provide a good quality service. If things go wrong we need to know so that we can put them right

• compliments - tell us when you think a council employee or service has done well. 

The services below have a different process to follow. They would not normally be dealt with under the corporate complaints process:  

• complain about a breach of the member code of conduct
• council tax - liability and valuation
• planning applications
• school admissions decisions
• penalty charge notices
• housing / council tax benefits decisions
• Housing Services (including services previously managed by Lewisham Homes)
• Lewisham Council pensions

Insurance claims fall outside the complaints process.  

Contact details of key services

For a full list please go to the contacts section.