Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy
Document Summary
The aim of this policy is to set out to staff and customers how we will manage the rare situations when customers behave unreasonably in their contacts with us. This policy:
• explains what we mean by ‘unreasonable customer behaviour’
• enables staff to manage services, enquiries, requests and complaints effectively, ensuring that all customers are treated fairly
• requires that customers’ additional needs or disabilities are considered when assessing whether behaviour should be considered unreasonable and that appropriate communication strategies are implemented, if necessary
• enables staff to deal openly and honestly with customers about their unreasonable behaviour.
• This policy applies to all services supplied by East Sussex County Council whether delivered directly by us or by contractors or other third parties on our behalf.
Introduction
East Sussex County Council is committed to providing services and responding to all customer enquiries fairly and in line with our Customer Promise, our policies and guidance for delivering services, and our complaints procedures. We value the views of our customers, whether this feedback is positive or negative. We want to resolve problems quickly, learn from our mistakes and, as a result, improve our services.
Unreasonable Customer Behaviour
We appreciate that some customers contact us for help and advice or to access our services when they are dealing with stressful and upsetting situations. We always want to listen, understand our customers’ needs, and try to help them.
We also understand how frustrating and disappointing it can be when something has gone wrong with a service we provide, or where we are unable to provide a service a customer would like from us. Sometimes customers find it hard to accept that we cannot help them. For example, this might be because we don’t have any legal power to help, because a customer’s circumstance means they don’t qualify for a particular service, or because we don’t have the resources to help.
Our staff cannot provide a service to all our customers in a fair way if a customer dominates our services with frequent, lengthy contacts about the same issue which we are seeking to resolve or where we have already explained what we can and cannot do to resolve it.
In rare situations, frustration, disappointment and upset can turn into unacceptable customer behaviour towards our staff or other customers. We will take proportionate action to protect the wellbeing of our staff and other customers from unreasonable behaviour in whatever form it takes.
The types of unreasonable customer behaviour covered by this policy include:
- Violent behaviour, including damaging or hurtful effects, physically or emotionally.
- Aggressive behaviour, including abusive, offensive, discriminatory or threatening language towards staff, verbally or in writing.
- Refusing to specify the grounds of a complaint, despite offers of help.
- Refusing to accept that certain issues are not within the scope of a complaints procedure.
- Insisting on the complaint being dealt with in ways which are incompatible with the adopted complaints procedure or with good practice.
- Making unjustified complaints about staff who are trying to deal with the issues, including seeking to have them replaced.
- Changing the basis of the complaint as the investigation proceeds.
- Denying or changing statements made at an earlier stage.
- Introducing trivial or irrelevant new information at a later stage.
- Raising many detailed but unimportant questions, and insisting they are all answered.
- Submitting falsified documents from themselves or others.
- Adopting a 'scatter gun' approach by contacting multiple members of staff, councillors, and causing confusion and potentially multiple responses, including pursuing parallel complaints on the same issue with various organisations.
- Making excessive demands on the time and resources of staff with lengthy phone calls, or detailed letters every few days, and expecting immediate responses.
- Submitting repeat complaints with minor additions/variations, including raising numerous, slightly varied, or altered questions about largely the same topic or issue, taking up a disproportionate and unmanageable amount of staff time.
- Repeated refusal to accept a decision made or explanation, and continual correspondence about the same issue, with no new evidence, including refusing to follow advice or signposting about who to contact.
- Repeatedly contacting us about an issue which we are seeking to resolve or where we have already explained what we can and cannot do to resolve it, or where no significant new information is being provided.
- Refusing to cooperate with the complaints investigation process or to use an existing process for escalating a problem or for challenging or appealing against a Council decision, e.g., challenge a parking Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) or a planning decision (in both cases there are specific appeals processes)
- Contacting the Council following a decision about a complaint, instead of asking the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to investigate.
- contacting the Council following our response to a statutory information request under the Freedom of information Act, Data Protection Act or GDPR, instead of asking the Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate.
This list is not exhaustive. The list includes examples of unreasonable actions and behaviours given by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Some behaviour may be reasonable in some settings but unreasonable in others, whilst violent and aggressive behaviour is unacceptable wherever it takes place.
In some circumstances, customers may be disabled or have a condition that makes it difficult for them to either express themselves or communicate clearly and / or appropriately. The Equality Act protects people from discrimination because they are disabled and also from discrimination ‘arising from disability’ (being treated badly because of something connected to a disability). We will consider the needs and circumstances of the customer and use this information to inform any decisions that we make.
Warnings
When we consider a customer’s behaviour has become unreasonable, we will let them know. We will ask that they change their behaviour in order for our staff to provide a service to the customer or help them resolve their issue.
Telephone calls
If unreasonable behaviour takes place during a telephone call, we will explain to the customer what behaviour is unreasonable. We will warn them that we may end the call immediately unless it stops, and then end the call if unreasonable behaviour continues. Should the unreasonable behaviour continue in further telephone calls, we will consider restricting future contact with our staff, and we will write to warn the customer we may restrict communication.
Face to face
If unreasonable behaviour takes place in person, we may warn a customer that we will ask them to leave immediately if they are in a Council building or that staff may leave the interaction with the customer if located outside or at other locations. If the unreasonable behaviour continues, we will write to warn customers we may need to temporarily exclude the customer from some or all of our buildings. The personal
safety of staff and customers is our top priority. Prior warning will not be provided to customers if the behaviour threatens the immediate safety of our staff or other customers. If appropriate, we may report the behaviour to the police or consider taking legal action.
Writing or emailing
If unreasonable behaviour takes place repeatedly when a customer contacts us in writing, we will give a warning to a customer explaining that they need to stop this behaviour in future communications with us. We will explain what we expect as reasonable behaviour and how to change to continue to communicate with us. If the unreasonable behaviour continues, we may need to restrict communication with them.
Restricting communication
If we restrict our communication with customers due to their unreasonable behaviour, we may carry out one or more of the following actions (or any other action appropriate in the circumstances):
- restrict times when we will accept telephone calls from a customer to particular days and/or times
- limit communication to one type of contact (for example email) and/or limit contact to one particular member of staff
- reply on a scheduled basis, for example responding once every 10 or 20 working days to any legitimate issues raised
- enter into an agreement regarding the customer’s future behaviour before continuing with their enquiry or complaint or to provide services to them
- maintain contact through someone who is independent of both the Council and the customer
- temporarily ban or restrict the customer from entering some or all Council premises
- stop communicating further with the customer on a specific issue where they are unreasonably demanding or persistent
- read and file correspondence which will only be acknowledged or responded to if appropriate to do so (for example where new issues arise or there may be a safeguarding concern)
A decision to restrict communication with a customer will only happen after discussion with a department’s Customer Services Team and with approval from a Head of Service.
All of the circumstances of the case will be taken into account, including consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty. Each case will be considered on an individual basis.
Restricting contact with customers will only be done when our requests for a customer to behave reasonably have not been met and it is proportionate to do so.
We will write to the customer setting out the reasons why we are restricting communication, any restrictions we are putting in place, for how long, and any review dates, if applicable.
Where we restrict communication, we will still work to resolve the concern raised by the customer if it has not yet been dealt with, and we will continue to deliver services to the customer, if it is appropriate to do so (for example, if it is safe and practicable or if we have a statutory duty to do so).
If a customer does not accept any restriction we have put in place, we may need to consider further restrictions such as stopping communication with the customer on this topic for a set period of time. We’ll review and we may start communicating again after this time unless there are good reasons to extend the restriction. However, there may also be with further restrictions in place. If restrictions continue or further restrictions are to be put in place, we will write to the customer to tell them this and explain the reasons and the next review date.
We will keep a record if we communicate a warning or a restriction to a customer. We will also commit to keeping the restrictions we have explained or put in place.
We may continue to refer a customer to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to make a complaint, if appropriate.
Appealing against action taken
If we place a restriction on communicating with a customer or exclude them from our buildings, a customer may appeal against this decision. Details of how to appeal will be provided when we write to the customer telling them about the restriction or exclusion. Appeals will be to an Assistant Director or Director of the department providing the service or dealing with the customer’s request. There may not be a right of appeal to the Council in cases where we have had to take legal action against a customer or there are legal proceedings relating to the issue. The customer will be advised of the outcome of an appeal in writing.
Accessing our services in future
New requests for services, information, enquiries or complaints received from customers who have restrictions in place will be treated on their merits unless covered by a restriction which remains in place, in which case that restriction will be applied.
Once any restrictions have ended, new requests for services, information, enquiries or complaints will be treated on their merits. Restrictions previously in place will not automatically be applied to these new requests.
Elected Members
If a Councillor experiences behaviour from a customer which they believe to be unreasonable or likely to become unreasonable, the Councillor may refer the matter to the relevant Director. We will consider whether this policy applies to the situation, and if appropriate, we will respond to the customer’s behaviour in
accordance with this policy
About this policy
About this Policy
Enquiries: Customer Services Team
Telephone: 01273 482913
Email:corporate.complaints@eastsussex.gov.uk
Version number: Version 2.4
Date: April 2022