Complaints Policy
Our aim is to provide high-quality services which meet your needs and surpass your expectations. After all, without your support, we would not be able to continue to carry out the work we do, often dramatically changing people’s lives.
We set ourselves high standards but, being human, we know there will be times when we fall short of those high standards. When we do, we want you to be free to tell us (hopefully before you tell everyone else) and give us a chance to put things right and learn lessons for the future.
If you aren’t happy with us please begin by contacting the relevant staff member, manager or trustee. If you aren’t happy with an individual, it’s usually best to tell him or her directly. If you aren’t able to do this or you feel it’s inappropriate, contact the staff member’s manager or a trustee. If your initial contact fails to resolve the issue, then we want you to be free to escalate the matter by contacting us at a higher level.
We will take your complaint seriously and see it as an opportunity to develop. Therefore we are glad to hear from people who are willing to take the time to tell us where they feel we have let them down. Please feel free to write to us with your comments and your concerns.
How long will our response be if you write to us?
We will acknowledge your contact immediately, and we will give you a contact name. We aim to get a detailed response to you within 10 days. If it will take longer than this we will let you know.
What will we do?
We will work hard to find out what went wrong and fix the problem and address your concerns. When you contact us please feel free to offer your own suggestions on how you feel it can be resolved. We will always treat you with courtesy and respect, listen to what you say, and keep you informed of progress. We will advise you of your options if you want to take it to the next stage.
What if I’m still not satisfied?
We have an arrangement with an independent complaints investigation organisation which undertakes to review all complaints sent to them and provide an appropriate response. This is not a legal process but it is a genuine and serious attempt to ensure that all complaints are given the attention they deserve. At your request, we will involve the outside investigator.
What we won’t or can’t do
We can’t engage in lengthy debates on issues that are not directly related to our work. We won’t reply to complaints that are abusive, prejudiced, offensive, or illegible. Where a complaint is made anonymously, clearly we can’t reply to it, but we will investigate the complaint to see what lessons can be learned.
Our pledge
We treat all complaints seriously and see them as an opportunity to improve what we do and the way we do it. We are happy to acknowledge mistakes that we make, sincerely apologise for them and try to prevent them happening again.
