Guidance notes on unreasonable complainant behaviour

Unreasonable behaviour includes what is listed below. The list is not exhaustive, nor does one single issue on its own necessarily imply that the person will be considered as being in this category.  It may include:

• Having insufficient or no grounds for their complaint, or be making the complaint only to annoy.
• Refusing to specify the grounds of a complaint despite a request to do so.
• Refusing to co-operate with the complaints process while still wishing their complaint to be resolved.
• Refusing to accept that issues are not within the power of the Committee to review, change or influence.
• Insisting on the complaint being dealt with in ways which are incompatible with the complaints procedure or with good practice.
• Making what appear to be groundless complaints about those dealing with the complaints, and seeking to have them dismissed or replaced.
• Making an unreasonable number of contacts with the Sub-Committee.
• Making persistent and unreasonable demands or expectations of staff and or the complaints process.
• Harassing or verbally abusing or otherwise seeking to intimidate Members or Officers dealing with their complaint by use of offensive or racist language.
• Raising subsidiary or new issues whilst a complaint is being addressed that were not part of the complaint at the start of the complaint process.
• Introducing trivial or irrelevant new information whilst the complaint is being reviewed outside of the period given for additional comments, and expecting this to be taken into account and commented on.
• Changing the substance or basis of the complaint without reasonable justification whilst the complaint is being addressed.
• Denying statements he or she made at an earlier stage in the complaint process.
• Electronically recording conversations without the prior knowledge and consent of the other person involved.
• Refusing to accept the outcome of the complaint process after its conclusion, repeatedly arguing the point, complaining about the outcome, and or denying that an adequate response has been given.
• Making the same complaint repeatedly, perhaps with minor differences, after the complaints procedure has been concluded, and insisting that the minor differences make these 'new' complaints which should be put through the full complaints procedure.
• Complaining about or challenging an issue based on a historic and irreversible decision or incident.
• A combination of some or all of the above features.