How to Complain About a Home Care Provider
The direct answer
Complain to the provider first, in writing, saying what happened, when, and what you want done. Every CQC-registered provider in England must have a complaints system, investigate what you raise and respond to you: that is Regulation 16 of the 2014 Regulations, not a courtesy. If the response does not resolve it, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can look at complaints about adult social care, including care you pay for yourself. If someone has been harmed or is at risk, that is safeguarding rather than a complaint: contact Hertfordshire County Council’s adult safeguarding team and, in an emergency, call 999. The CQC does not resolve individual complaints but wants to hear about them, because they shape when and what it inspects.
Written by the Starling Homecare leadership team and reviewed by Rupen Faldu, Managing Director and the provider’s nominated individual. Last reviewed 24 October 2026; next review by April 2027. Sources are listed at the end of this page.
Complaints at a glance
Step one: raise it with the care coordinator or registered manager, by phone and then in writing. Step two: expect an acknowledgement, an investigation and a written reply that says what was found, what has changed and how to take it further. Step three: if you are not satisfied, or you hear nothing, go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (self-funded care included) or, where the council arranged the care, to the council’s complaints team first. At any point: tell the CQC through its “Give feedback on care” form. Harm or risk: safeguarding, not complaints; the council’s safeguarding team leads under section 42 of the Care Act 2014.
What the provider must do
Regulation 16: receiving and acting on complaints
A registered provider must have an accessible system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints, must investigate every complaint and take proportionate action in response, and must be able to show the CQC a summary of complaints and responses on request. In practice that means a written complaints procedure given to you when care starts, a named person who handles complaints, and a written reply.
Regulation 20: the duty of candour
When something goes wrong that causes or could cause moderate or more serious harm, the provider must tell you itself, in person, explain what happened, apologise, and follow up in writing. A provider that waits for you to find out about an incident of that kind is not meeting this duty.
Timescales
The Regulations set no fixed number of days for a provider’s reply. The 2009 Complaints Regulations that govern councils and the NHS require an acknowledgement within three working days and a response within an agreed, reasonable period, and most providers mirror that. Ask for the provider’s timescale in writing when you complain, and hold them to it.
Write it down even if you have already spoken to someone. Give dates, times, names where you know them, and what was agreed in the care plan against what actually happened. Say what outcome you want: an apology, a change of carer, a credit on the invoice, a change to the plan. Keep it to the facts; a complaint that reads as a list of grievances is harder to answer than three dated incidents. Keep copies of everything, including the visit records if the provider gives family access to them. If the person receiving care lacks capacity to complain themselves, a family member, attorney or advocate can complain on their behalf; the provider cannot refuse to deal with you on confidentiality grounds alone, although it may ask to see a power of attorney.
If the care is arranged by the council, you can complain to the provider, the council or both; the council remains responsible for the service it commissions. If the care is funded by the NHS under Continuing Healthcare, complain to the provider and to the integrated care board.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
The Ombudsman is free and independent and can consider complaints about adult social care providers whether the care is council-funded or privately funded. It normally expects you to have complained to the provider first and given it a reasonable time to respond. It can recommend an apology, a change of practice and a financial remedy, and it publishes its decisions.
The Care Quality Commission
The CQC regulates providers but does not investigate individual complaints or award remedies. Tell it anyway, through its online feedback form: patterns of concern are one of the main triggers for an inspection, and it can act on a breach of the Regulations.
Safeguarding
Where an adult with care and support needs is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect and cannot protect themselves, Hertfordshire County Council must make enquiries under section 42 of the Care Act 2014. Missed visits that leave someone without food, medication or personal care, financial abuse, rough handling and neglect are safeguarding matters. Report them to Hertfordshire County Council’s adult safeguarding team (through the council’s adult care services, or via HertsHelp on 0300 123 4044 if you are not sure who to call); the provider is obliged to do the same.
Starling Homecare gives every family a written complaints procedure before care starts, names the registered manager, Kelly-Anne Taylor, as the person responsible, acknowledges a complaint promptly and replies in writing with what we found and what we have changed. We tell you ourselves when something has gone wrong, under the duty of candour, and we log every complaint and every missed or late visit so the pattern is visible to us and to the CQC. If you are unhappy with our answer we will tell you how to reach the Ombudsman. Complaints about our own service come to the registered manager on 01727 324 127 or in writing to Starling Homecare, Suite 4, STANTA Business Centre, 3 Soothouse Spring, St Albans AL3 6PF; nothing on this page is a reason not to use that route.
Common questions about complaining
Can I complain about care I pay for myself?
Yes. Regulation 16 applies to every registered provider whoever pays, and since 2010 the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has been able to consider complaints about privately funded adult social care.
Will complaining affect the care my relative receives?
It must not. A provider that withdraws or worsens care in response to a complaint is in breach of the Regulations and that itself should be reported to the CQC and the council. A good provider treats a complaint as information.
What is the difference between a complaint and a safeguarding concern?
A complaint is about the service: lateness, a change of carer, an invoice. A safeguarding concern is about harm or risk to the person: neglect, abuse, injury, money going missing. Safeguarding goes to the council’s adult safeguarding team under section 42 of the Care Act 2014, and in an emergency to the police.
Where to go next
- Read home care red flags to check whether what you are seeing is a one-off or a pattern, and contracts, notice and switching if you are considering a change of provider.
- Before you choose any provider, ask how it handles complaints, who is named as responsible and how it tells families when something goes wrong; a registered provider can answer all three at once.
- If you would like to talk through a situation with a provider that handles these matters every week, call Starling Homecare on 01727 324 127 or request a callback.
Starling Homecare provides visiting care in St Albans, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Hatfield, Potters Bar and Cuffley and Cheshunt, and live-in care across Hertfordshire.
Sources
- Regulation 16, receiving and acting on complaints, Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Regulation 20, duty of candour, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Care Act 2014, section 42 (safeguarding enquiries), legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Adult social care complaints, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Give feedback on care, Care Quality Commission, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Adult social services, Hertfordshire County Council, accessed 24 October 2026.
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