Complaints policy
References:
A: Health and Social care Act, 2008
B: Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code
C: Compensation Act, 2006
D: Consumer Rights Act, 2015
Compliments and Complaints Policy
Aim
Nightstop Communities Northwest CIC (NCNW) is committed to achieving the highest standards of customer satisfaction by actively encouraging feedback from beneficiaries, clients, and partnership agencies. This policy has been developed to ensure both complaints and compliments are acknowledged and managed in a timely and consistent manner.
The organisation commits to
We are committed to making it easier for individuals to provide feedback to us and use this feedback to improve our services. Through the Compliments and Complaints Policy, we will try to resolve your complaints speedily, effectively and fairly. When dealing with complaints, it is our aim to work with you so we understand what your issues are and what you would like to happen to resolve it. The tone of our contact will be open, responsive and avoid jargon. Our written correspondence will use plain English and will be backed up with agreed positive action to resolve your complaint. We are committed to treating all of our service users fairly and we take equality and diversity into account in a positive way. We will make sure that individual needs are considered when applying this policy and that any reasonable adjustments are made as required.
What is a compliment
A compliment is an expression of satisfaction about the standard of service we provide. We are always glad to hear from people who are satisfied with the services we offer. All compliments are recorded, and a copy is sent to the relevant service manager to provide feedback to the member of staff who it relates to.Â
- https://www.property.nhs.uk/news-insights/insights/deborah-prince-customer-feedback-blog
- https://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/dispute-resolution/handling-customer-complaints.
- https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/organisations-we-investigate/good-complaint-handling
- https://www.gov.uk/government/public-sector-equality-duty-guidance-for-public-authorities
- https://www.lawworks.org.uk/Template%20Compliments%20and%20Complaints%20Policy%20and%20Procedure.docx
What is a complaint
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about a service that requires a response.Â
NCNW staff can resolve most issues of dissatisfaction as part of their job, without the need for a written complaint to be initiated. However, there may be cases that require further investigation and the involvement of other managers to establish what went wrong. Thes issues will be dealt with as complaints.Â
NCNW employs a two-stage internal policy
Initial investigation undertaken by relevant manager (stage one)
Upon receipt of the complaint, our service will look at the issues contained within the complaint. We will look at whether this issue could be resolved quickly. If this can be achieved, we may contact the complainant to discuss and hopefully resolving the issue. If this is not achievable the complaint will be dealt with in the following way.
This is the first formal stage, where acknowledgment of receipt of the complaint is made within 3 working days. The acknowledgement can be made verbally or in writing and will include:
- Confirmation that the complaint has been received and if possible, the name and contact details of the investigating officer, however this may not be possible in all cases
- Date or timeframe by which the complainant can expect to receive a response
Our policy is to respond in full to the complainant within 20 working days of receipt of your complaint, wherever possible. The complainant will receive a fully documented response regarding the complaint within 20 working days. If this is not possible due to the nature of the complaint NCNW will have up to 30 working days to complete and respond to the complainant (the complainant will be advised of any new timescales). However, we will provide regular updates. The investigating officer may need to contact the complainant for further information to assist with their investigation.
Our response can be provided by letter, email, face to face or by telephone. Where a response is given by telephone or in person, we will offer to provide written confirmation of our discussion.
As part of our response, we will also advise the complainant how if required to take the complaint to a further stage should you wish to do so.
Review (stage two)
https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/default/files/Identifying_a_complaint_02.pdf
https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/for-legal-service-providers/good-complaints-handling
https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/DISP/1/4.html?date=2005-01-14
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/about/complaints-procedure
If the complainant remains dissatisfied following our initial investigation, the complainant has the right to appeal. All complainant appeals must be submitted within 10 working days of the final report being sent, after this time the complaint will not be able to appeal. When escalating a complaint, it is important to stress to the complainant that they are to be clear in their reasons for progressing the complaint and what the complainant’s desired outcome is.
All complaints are to be clearly marked for the attention of the appropriate department manager using the contact details below:
Address: 194 Warrington Road, Widnes, WA8 0AT
E-mail: reception@ncnw.co.uk
Telephone: 0151 345 6454
Dealing with unreasonable complaints behaviour
We treat all complaints seriously and are committed to resolving complaints fairly. In most cases we can work with complainants to find a mutually acceptable resolution. Occasionally, when communication with a complainant becomes a problem, we may need to take appropriate action.
This policy sets out how we will deal with cases where the actions of individuals become unacceptable because we deem them to involve the abuse of staff or of the complaint process. This policy is applied when a customer has made a formal complaint.
Unreasonable behaviour is defined as:Â
Complainants who, because of the nature or frequency of their contact with an organisation, hinder the organisation’s consideration of their or other people’s complaints. If we believe that the behaviour in pursuit of a complaint is unreasonable, we will inform the complainant why we believe this to be the case and the problems it is causing. We will also set out what we propose for communication with you going forward.
Examples of unreasonable behaviour include:
- aggressive or abusive language
- making excessive demands for information, documents or requesting actions outside the complaint procedure
- refusing to co-operate with the procedure
- sending large volumes of correspondence or an excessive number of contacts
https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/DISP/1/6.html
https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/managing-challenging-situations-complaint-handling.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/Unreasonable_Behaviour_Policy_v1.0.pdf
https://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/unreasonable-complainant-policy.
How we will inform the complainant
NCNW will write to the complainant and inform them why we find your behaviour to be unreasonable.Â
Where you have an ongoing complaint:Â
- we will provide update on the status of your complaint and timescale for response
- we will outline how it is reasonable for you to make contact whilst your complaint is being investigated and the reasons for this
- we may limit the amount of contact we will consider in relation to your complaint
- Where your complaint has exhausted NCNWs complaints policy:Â
- we confirm that your complaint had completed the NCNWs complaint policy and will direct you to appropriate routes of escalation.
If unreasonable behaviour persists after the above steps are followed, this will lead to a restriction being placed on your contact with NCNW and details of the restriction will be confirmed in writing and will set a review period for the restriction.
Compliments / Feedback
NCNW also receives and welcomes compliments and positive feedback. We welcome suggestions about any of the services received and how services might be improved and will be documented on the Complaint/Compliments Form (Appendix 1). This information is analysed and provides insight to identify good and bad practices and highlight any improvements.
Help and Advice
Should you have any complaints regarding any of NCNW’s services, volunteers or any individual involved with NCNW CIC please write to:
NCNW
194 Warrington Road
The Castle
Widnes,
WA8 0AT
Email: reception@ncnw.co.uk
Telephone: 0151 345 6454
If you wish you can also contact a separate Advocacy agent where they can give you independent advice and guidance on disputes and complaints.
Local Citizens Advice Bureau
Citizens Advice Bureau
