Complaints, comments and compliments

Customer Service Charter

Our vision in Mid & East Antrim is 'Working Together to Create a Better Future for All'.

We believe that maintaining a strong customer focus is essential to delivering excellent Council services.

This charter sets out what you can expect from us.

Our People

  • will be polite, friendly and helpful
  • will listen and treat you with dignity and respect at all times
  • will apologise when things go wrong and where possible make it right

Our Facilities

  • will be easy to access and fnd
  • will be clean and comfortable
  • will be open at the published times

Our Services

  • will be easy to use and access
  • will continue to improve
  • will be fairly priced
  • will be well promoted and information will be easy to understand

Our Customers

  • will treat our staff with dignity and respect
  • will provide us with the information we need to help
  • will let us know where we can improve

If you feel we are not meeting our commitments as set out in our charter, or if you have any ideas as to how we can improve, we want to hear from you.

How to pay us a compliment, send us a comment or make a complaint

You can make a complaint, comment or compliment in the following ways:

  • In person to any Council staff member
  • In writing, directly to the service area, or to:
    Complaints
    Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
    The Braid
    1-29 Bridge Street
    Ballymena
    BT43 5EJ
  • By telephone: 0300 124 5000
  • By email, directly to the service area, or to complaints@midandeastantrim.gov.uk

We have a two-stage process for managing complaints:

Stage 1

In the first instance, the complaint will be managed as a Stage 1 frontline response.

This gives the Council an opportunity to resolve or respond to complaints quickly and effectively.

Council will respond at this stage within 5 working days of the date of registration of the complaint.

The Council will register all complaints on the day received unless it is received after normal business hours or received on a weekend or bank holiday, in which case the date of receipt is considered to be the next working day.

Stage 2

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the Stage 1 frontline response, you may wish to take the matter further, escalating to a Stage 2 investigation.

This is the final stage of Council’s complaints procedure.

Stage 2 aims to explore the complaint in more depth.

Receipt of your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt.

Council will provide a full response to your Stage 2 complaint as soon as possible but no later than 20 working days from the time the complaint was received for investigation.

If at the end of our complaints process you remain unhappy, you or Council, may refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman.