Managing Vexatious Complainants Policy

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1.0 Introduction

1.1 The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is committed to dealing with complaints fairly and proportionately and to making services as accessible as possible. All complainants should receive the same standard of response as any other service user, and the Council must show that it has not discriminated against persistent complainants.

1.2 In those case where our customers, staff or the Council as a whole suffer adversely from individuals making repeated, frivolous or persistent complaints, or whereby there is a manifestly inappropriate or improper use of a formal procedure the policy for Managing Vexatious Complainants will be applied.

1.3 Vexatious or unreasonably persistent complainants are complainants who, because of the frequency or nature of their contacts with the Council, hinder our ability to consider theirs or other people’s complaints or to deliver Council services effectively.

1.4 Similarly, the difficulty in handling such complaints is that they are time consuming and resource intensive in terms of officer and member time and displace resources that would otherwise be spent on Council’s priorities.

1.5 This policy should be read in conjunction with:

• Bradford Council’s Complaint Policy
• Managing Unacceptable Customer Behaviour Policy
• Violence and Aggression at Work Policy
• Lone Working Policy
• Accident and Incident Reporting Procedures
• Local Governance Ombudsman (LGO) guidance on managing unreasonable behaviour

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2.0 Scope

2.1 This policy applies to staff dealing with complainants by phone, email or face to face contact

2.2 This policy is intended to protect staff, elected members and agents acting on behalf of the Council.

2.3 Before implementing the provisions in this policy, officers must consider whether the Council’s procedures have been followed correctly, whether full and reasonable responses have already been given and whether the complainant is now becoming vexatious.

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3.0 Defining vexatious complainants

3.1 Raising legitimate queries or criticisms of the Council’s complaints procedure as it progresses should not in itself lead to someone being regarded as a vexatious or an unreasonably persistent complainant.

3.2 Similarly, the fact that a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of a complaint and seeks to challenge it once, or more than once, should not necessarily cause that person to be labelled vexatious or unreasonably persistent.

3.3 Vexatious complainants are likely to include some of the following:

• Refusing to specify the grounds of a complaint, despite offers of help.
• Refusing to cooperate with the complaints investigation process.
• Refusing to accept that certain issues are not within the scope of a complaints procedure, such as where an appeal process is in place.
• Insisting on the complaint being dealt with in ways which are incompatible with the adopted complaints procedure or with good practice.
• Frequent, lengthy, complicated and demanding contact with staff, which maybe historic or current.
• Making unjustified complaints about staff who are trying to deal with the issues, and 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: pursuing parallel complaints on the same issue with various organisations or simultaneously with numerous officers or departments within the Council.
• Making excessive demands on the time and resources of staff with lengthy phone calls, emails to numerous council staff, or detailed letters every few days, and expecting immediate responses.
• Submitting repeat complaints with minor additions/variations the complainant insists make these 'new' complaints.
• Refusing to accept the decision; repeatedly arguing points with no new evidence.
• Covertly recording meetings and conversations.
• Mis-using council telephone numbers, for example calling mobile numbers or those not intended for public use.
• The complainant engaging in discriminatory and/or offensive language/ views or behaviour.

This list is not exhaustive and merely indicates some of the behaviours likely to be considered as vexatious or unreasonably persistent.

3.4 If the complainant is persistent because their complaints have not been considered in full then the Council must address this. However, if the Council has already done so and has demonstrated this to the complainant, then the Corporate Complaints Manager or the relevant Service Manager in liaison with the Corporate Complaints Manager, should consider whether the complainant is now unreasonably persistent and therefore vexatious.

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4.0 Dealing with Vexatious Complainants

4.1 Before this policy is invoked the complainant should receive the same standard of response as any other service user, and the Council must show that it has not discriminated against the complainant.

4.2 Where a complaint is closed and the complainant persists in further communications, the Corporate Complaints Manager or the relevant Service Manager may decide to terminate contact with that complainant. (see 5.2)

4.3 New complaints and enquiries from customers whose behaviour has previously been deemed vexatious will be assessed. Restrictions imposed in respect of an earlier complaint or enquiry will not automatically apply to a new matter but will be assessed by the designated contact officer on a case by case basis.

4.4 Appropriate records of any communications with a potentially vexatious complainant should be kept and staff should seek advice from the Corporate Complaints team about when to apply this policy.

4.5 Once it is clear that an individual meets the criteria of vexatious or unreasonably persistent behaviour, it may be appropriate to inform them, in writing, that their conduct is unacceptable and that, if it continues, they may be classified as "vexatious, habitual or unreasonable". The letter should state clearly which elements of their behaviour are causing problems.

4.6 The Council may consider, where appropriate, referring the complainant to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) before the complaints procedure has been exhausted. This can be applied in extreme circumstances when the Council does not agree with the complainant that the complaints are substantively valid and the two parties disagree on the way forward.

4.7 Incidents of threats or harassment to staff from a complainant should be refer to the relevant Service Manager who will liaise with police directly or via the legal services of the Council (the policy for Managing Unacceptable Customer Behaviour should also be referred to).

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5.0 Considering restrictions

5.1 The decision to restrict access to the complaints procedure should be taken by the Corporate Complaints Manager, or a relevant Service Manager following consultation with the Corporate Complaints Manager, and should follow a prior written warning to the complainant (see 6.1).

5.2 Any restrictions imposed should be appropriate and proportionate. The options that the Corporate Complaints Manager in liaison with the relevant Service Manager can consider are:

• Requiring future contact in a particular form (for example, letters only)
• Requiring future contact to take place with a named officer
• Restricting telephone calls to specified days and times
• Asking the complainant to enter into an agreement about their future contact with the Council
• Informing the complainant that if they still do not cooperate with the advice given, any further correspondence that does not present significant new matters or new information will merely be acknowledged and kept on file;
• Refusing to investigate the complaint until the complainant provides further information which is valid
• Requiring any future personal contact to take place in the presence of an appropriate witness and in a suitable location
• Placing limits on the number and duration of contacts with staff in a given period
• Refusing to register and process further complaints about the same matter

5.3 Any new complaints from people who come under this policy should be treated on their individual merits to ensure that any restrictions are still appropriate and necessary

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6.0 Implementing the Vexatious Policy

6.1 Prior to deeming a complainant vexatious a written warning must be applied stating that if their behaviour continues the Council may decide to designate their behaviour as vexatious and explaining the reasons why. It is important that the customer is given an opportunity to modify their behaviour before any further restrictions are applied.

6.2 Continuation of vexatious or unreasonable behaviour will result in notifying the complainant that this policy has been applied and must include an explanation of the reasons why the policy has been applied and any action being taken. The written notification must also give the time period this will be imposed for before a review is considered and the complainant’s right of appeal.

6.3 A copy of the policy itself, or an electronic link to the policy document should be included when notifying the complainant that the policy has been applied.

6.4 The complainant has the right to appeal against the decision to the relevant Assistant Director who will respond within 20 working days. If the customer still remains dissatisfied they should be advised of their right to approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

6.5 The policy can be imposed for up to 12 months prior to review. If, after that period, the complainant contacts the Council about the same issue, then they would be advised that it may be permanently enforced in relation to that issue with no review date.

6.6 The complainant should still be able to contact the Council to raise any new issues they may have and access any services they may be entitled to.

6.7 Where restrictions are being considered by more than one Service a co- ordinated approach should be taken, led by the Corporate Complaints team.

6.8 A summary of the vexatious procedure to be applied is enclosed (Appendix 1)

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Appendix 1 Summary of Vexatious Procedure

1. Complainant displays behaviours as shown in 3.3 of the vexatious policy
2. The service should maintain a record or log of contact including:
   1. Name
   2. Dates of contact
   3. Summary of content of individual contacts
   4. Responses given
   5. Officer details
3. A written warning is sent to the customer stating that if their behaviour continues the Council may decide to designate their behaviour as vexatious and explaining the reasons why.
4. If the behaviour continues the Corporate Complaints Manager along with the relevant Service Manager decide to apply any of the restrictions in section 5 The customer should be informed in writing of:
   1. What action/s the Council is taking
   2. Why the Council is taking that action
   3. The duration of that action
   4. The review process
   5. The right of the complainant to appeal to the relevant Assistant Director
   6. A copy of the Managing Vexatious Complainants policy will be enclosed with the letter
5. A restriction can be applied for a maximum of 12 months. If, after that period, the complainant contacts the Council about the same issue, then they would be advised the restrictions may be permanently enforced in relation to that issue with no review date.
   NB - the complainant should still be able to contact the Council to raise any new issues they may have and access any services they may be entitled to.
6. Once the restriction period has expired, the Corporate Complaints Manager or relevant Service Manager will write to confirm if the sanction has been removed or extended and the reasons for the decision.
7. A log of unreasonable complainants and clients displaying the types of behaviour described in this policy, who have received a warning, sanction or a restriction will be kept by the Corporate Complaints Team and shared with relevant staff. The record will include:
   1. Name and address of customer
   2. Department applying the restriction
   3. What the restrictions are
   4. When the restriction came into force and ends
   5. Notes of any related correspondence (warning letter, letter informing of restriction, review letter).
8. Where a customer remains dissatisfied at the Council’s decision to impose a restriction they may make an appeal in writing to the relevant Assistant Director, who will respond within 20 working days. If the customer still remains dissatisfied they would be advised of their right to approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).