Unreasonable or vexatious complainants policy

Where we believe that a customer is behaving in an unreasonable manner, the Service Lead for the affected service should review the customer’s original complaint to ensure it has been, or is being, correctly investigated in accordance with the Council’s Compliments, Comments and Complaints policy.

This will include reviewing the decision reached, establishing whether there have been adequate communications with the customer, and checking that the customer is not now providing any significant new information that might affect the Council’s view on the complaint.

The Service Lead will then contact the customer to discuss their actions, explain why their conduct is considered to be unacceptable and request that they desist. They should also advise that restrictions may be applied or further action taken if they do not modify their behaviour. A link to or copy of this policy should also be emailed or posted to the customer for their information at this time.

The objective is to manage the complainant’s unreasonable behaviour in such a way that their complaint can be concluded briskly, without further distractions.

If the unacceptable actions continue, the Service Lead (or their Head of Service) will decide whether to invoke this policy and apply restrictions on future contacts by the customer.

Any restrictions applied must be proportionate to the nature and frequency of the customer’s unreasonable actions and be decided on a case-by-case basis. Consideration must be given as to whether the behaviours may be linked with underlying health issues, conditions or disabilities and must also have regard to the Council’s duty to make any reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010,

In most circumstances it will be sufficient to only restrict access to the service(s) who have been subject to unreasonable actions, although details of the restrictions may also be shared with any other services and staff who need to know. Where actions are considered to pose a significant risk to staff or Councillors or relate to several different service areas, it may be appropriate to consider Council-wide restrictions on contact.

Restrictions may include:

• Limiting the customer to one method of contact with the service, i.e. email, letter or telephone contact only (having regard to any reasonable adjustments required)
• Placing limits on the number, length and frequency of contacts made per week or per month
• Only considering a certain number of issues or complaints within a given time period
• Setting a specific time slot for essential contact only (on given days and / or at defined times)
• Restricting access to the service by appointment only
• Blocking access to some or all of the Council’s social media channels
• Restricting contact to a specified Single Point of Contact (this may include limiting contact to use of a generic email address or specified telephone number only)
• Not responding to any correspondence we consider to be abusive, offensive or unhelpful
• Where a final decision on a complaint has been made, not accepting additional complaints or engaging in further correspondence relating to the same matter, unless new, relevant additional evidence or information is provided. (Any such correspondence received will be read by a designated officer and placed on file but without acknowledgement or reply)

Where restrictions are to be applied, the Service Lead must email or write to the customer to confirm:

• why we consider their conduct to be unreasonable
• what action we are taking, including what type of contact the service will continue to allow and the frequency of that contact
• how long any restrictions will be in place for
• how the customer can request a review of the decision, and
• their right to contact the LGSCO regarding being classed as behaving unreasonably in accordance with this policy

Where the unreasonable behaviour is being made towards a Councillor rather than a service or a member of staff, the Councillor should disengage from interactions with the complainant and report the incident to the Members & Elections Team Manager, who will follow the same process as the Service Lead as set out above.

If restrictions are applied, the Service Recovery Team must be informed and will maintain a register of all complainants who have been classed as behaving unreasonably. This will include details of:

• the name and address of the customer
• summary of why the policy was invoked
• what restrictions were implemented and by whom
• name and contact details of Single Point of Contact (if allocated)
• period of restrictions / review date
• date customer advised by service
• date and which relevant Council departments were advised
• date restrictions removed and customer (and relevant Council departments) advised

The decision to restrict contact will be reviewed by the Service Lead after 6 months (unless otherwise specified) and relationships returned to normal unless there are good grounds to extend them.

If restrictions are to remain in place following the review, the Service Lead will email or write to the customer to explain the reasons for the continuation and when the restrictions will next be reviewed. They will also advise the Service Recovery Team of the outcome so that the register can be updated.

If, despite the decision to restrict contact, the complainant persists in behaving in a manner which is considered unacceptable, the Service Lead, in consultation with their Service Director and / or the Council’s Monitoring Officer, may decide to refuse all further contact regarding their complaint and cease the investigation into it. At this point, the complainant will be referred to the LGSCO, as there will be little or no prospect of achieving a satisfactory outcome. This action will usually only be taken in the most serious cases, particularly where a complainant’s actions are having an adverse impact on staff welfare.