Complaints policy
This document provides guidelines for resolution and actions of handling complaints made by general members of the public, donors and authorities (referred to as complainants in this document)
1. Policy statement
At Giving Support Ltd, we believe that if a complainant wishes to file an issue or express dissatisfaction, it should be easy for them to do so. It is Giving Support Ltd a policy to receive complaints and consider them as an opportunity to resolve the issues by providing a better service.
A quick resolution of complaints, in a way that respects and values the complainant’s issues, can be one of the most important factors in recovering the complainant’s confidence regarding fundraising services offered by our company. It can also help to prevent further escalation of the complaint. A responsive, efficient, effective and fair complaint management system would assist our company to achieve this.
The purpose of this Policy is to ensure that complaints are handled properly and that all complaints or comments are taken seriously. Our company expects its employees to be committed to fair, effective and efficient complaint handling
2. Purpose
The company’s objective is to ensure that all complainants feel confident that their concerns are acted upon promptly and efficiently.
Our complaint management system aims to:
· allow us to respond to complaints in a timely and cost-effective manner
· increase customer confidence in our administration processes and provide information that we can utilize to improve the quality of our services and complaints procedures.
This policy provides guidance to our staff and to complainants a
bout the key principles and concepts of our complaint
management system
3. Scope
This policy applies to all employees and management receiving complaints from the head office or directly from complainants
4. Definition of complaint
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction regarding services provided by members of staff at Giving Support Ltd.
Only non-anonymous complaints filed necessitate a response from Giving Support ltd.
An informal complaint means a complaint that has been received by Giving Support Ltd, by telephone, email, regular mail or in person, which has been resolved without filling in the Complaint form.
A formal complaint means a complaint that has not been successfully resolved through the complaint management process. The complainant choses to formalize the complaint by completing a Complaint form
5. Complaint management process
5.1 Verbal complaint
Giving Support Ltd staff who receive a verbal complaint via our call Centre or while working in residential areas should try to resolve the issue immediately where possible. If staff cannot resolve the issue immediately, they should offer to refer the complaint to the complaint manager for resolution.
The complaints manager is the director of Giving Support Ltd, who will deal with the complaint through the complaint management process.
The company evaluates any incident on receipt of valid evidence provided by the compliant to prove that the incident took place.
Following the investigation of the complaint , the complaint manager will prepare an action plan to resolve the issue. The complaint manager should clarify the proposed action plan with the complainant and communicate the final resolution to the complainant.
Where the complaint is made on behalf of the complainant by a third party, the written complainant’s consent is required before an investigation could be launched.
If the proposed action plan is not acceptable to the complainant, the complaint manager should provide a complainant with the Complaint form (Appendix A) to fill in a formal complaint
5.2 Written Complaint
When a complaint is received in writing, it must be dealt by the complaint manager who will seek further clarification where necessary.
The company evaluates any incident on receipt of valid evidence provided by the compliant to prove that the incident took place.
If the complaint is made on behalf of the complainant by a third party, the written complainant’s consent is required before an investigation to the complaint could be launched.
After receiving the complaint letter and all supporting evidence related to the complaint, the complaints manager will supply a copy of the complaints management process to the complainant.
The complaints manager will immediately launch an investigation and within fourteen days should be able to provide his findings to the complainant, either in writing or by arranging a meeting. The complainant may be accompanied by a third party or a legal representative
If the issues are too complex for the investigation to be completed within 14 days, the complainant should be informed of any delays.
If the complaint raises potentially serious concerns, legal advice should be obtained by either party. If legal action is taken at this stage, any investigation by Giving Support Ltd under the complaint procedure should cease immediately
Recordkeeping
All verbal, written and formal complaints will be recorded on by Giving Support for audit, service management and staff training purposes