Reviewed: February 2022
Our aim is to always provide the highest possible standard of service and our customers’ views are extremely important to us; without customers informing us of where we get things wrong, we may not be able to improve and we appreciate every piece of feedback, good or bad, that we receive. Therefore, if you are unhappy with any of our services, it is important that you let us know. We can also accept complaints and feedback anonymously.
Please note: Complaints relating to possible abuse or neglect will be dealt with internally and the safeguarding team will decide how to investigate and monitor outcomes as well decide upon any relevant action necessary. Rest assured, we take all allegations of abuse and neglect seriously and will deal with these types of complaints promptly and with utmost priority. Safeguarding is critical to everything we do and, depending on the severity of the complaint, referrals may be made to the police, local authority, social services or other service providers where it is deemed appropriate.
We aim to handle all complaints quickly, effectively and in a fair and transparent way. Your feedback is valuable to us to help us improve our services. We are committed to keeping all complaints confidential and will never disclose the complainant’s details to anybody except for those responsible for handling your complaint or where we are allowed or required to do so by law. We will never withdraw or reduce services because someone makes a complaint in good faith.
We also welcome positive feedback to let us know where we’re getting things right! Please follow the same processes outlined below to inform us of any great experiences you have.
How to raise a complaint
If you are dissatisfied with any area of our service, including but not limited to the behaviour or actions of any member of staff, you may raise a complaint to us in writing by email or letter, the contact information can be found on our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We recommend raising your complaint via the contact form as this will ensure it is dealt with by the correct person the first time. If you are unable to put your complaint in writing, please call us so that we can provide an alternative means of raising a complaint.
We can accept complaints from an authorised person provided we have written consent for them to deal with the matter on their behalf or evidence of them holding power of attorney. If you are unable to provide written authority, please contact us so we can arrange an alternative means for you to provide documented consent.
Responsibility
When you raise a complaint, it will be referred immediately and confidentially to a senior member of staff who will adopt responsibility for dealing with the complaint about the service. Where a complaint names a senior member of staff, this individual will not be responsible for dealing with your complaint. As far as reasonably practicable, we will provide you with any help you need to understand the complaints process and any advice you may need to get further help. At any time during our complaints process, you will be free to seek your own, independent legal advice or support from external organisations including the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
How we handle complaints
We will investigate all complaints fairly and independently. You can expect your complaint to be dealt with a person of seniority within the organisation who will deal with and investigate the issues raised in your complaint personally.
You will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 7 working days and aim to complete our investigations within 30 days, we will keep you updated with the progress of our investigation where practicable, fair and reasonable to do so provided it does not influence the investigation in any way. If it is likely your complaint will take longer than 30 days to investigate, we will inform you of this at the earliest possible opportunity and provide you with a reason why, if a reason cannot be provided due to risks of prejudicing the investigation, we will inform you of the same.
When we have completed our investigations, we will issue you with a response that details our findings and inform you of any actions taken to resolve the complaint. If the complaint results in disciplinary action against a member of staff or otherwise concerns a specific member of staff, we will not be able to inform you of the actions we are taking in relation to the internal resolution process.
If you raise your complaint anonymously, we will treat it with the same care and consideration as any other form of complaint but for obvious reasons, we will be unable to provide you with updates or a resolution.
Time limits
If you are unhappy with a service you have received, you must complain as soon as you con after the date in which the event occurred or came to your notice. If you complain more than two weeks after the incident, we may not be able to investigate properly due to the number of customers we serve and the number of events we run – it is likely that the recollections of those involved will diminish over time and therefore it is best practice to raise complaints in a timely manner. If you raise a complaint outside of this time limit, we will consider any good reasons provided as to why you were unable to complain sooner and whether it is possible to effectively investigate the complaint in a manner that is fair despite the delay.
Appeals
Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to offer a formal appeals process. However, if you would like a second opinion relating to your complaint, you may request a second opinion within 30 days of receiving the outcome of your complaint. Your complaint, including all information relating to the investigation and outcome, will be submitted to a second member of staff and they will be responsible for considering whether the outcome is fair and just based on the information available to them. If you feel anything has been overlooked, this will be considered as part of the review.
Internal Complaints (Whistleblowing)
Staff and other individuals involved in the operations of our organisation are encouraged to raise complaints where they find services or operations fall short of the standards we expect. Staff can complain using the process above, alternatively, they can complete an internal complaints form and deliver it to a senior member of staff or, if they wish to remain anonymous, they may post it to the registered office address; if they wish to receive a response to their complaint, they may follow the process outlined above. All complaints will be dealt with in the same manner.