How to make a complaint?

 

Transcript:

Hello my name is Craig, and I am an advocacy officer. The reason for this video is to talk about complaints. An example of a complaint is, if you were to order an item you would expect to receive it in good condition. You may receive the wrong item or it may have been damaged. Another example is when you may have asked for support from a care provider and the service that you have received is of poor quality, and there is a breakdown of service. These are some of the different reasons that people decide to make a complaint. The aim of a complaint, is to have the complaint upheld and that you receive the service that you originally expected. We have to follow the complaints procedure. Each organisation should have their own complaints procedure. Its worth asking if they have one, it could be on their website. To make a complaint, firstly you need to know what you are complaining about. An example of this is if you were to order something but when you received it the item was damaged. You would need to report this by writing a letter or sending an email. If you prefer to use BSL to make the complaint instead of writing it in English, then you can sign it and an interpreter can translate it into English either verbally or in writing. When making the complaint to the company, to say that you are not happy with the service that you have received. The company upon receipt of your complaint, should make a note of it on their system. Sometimes a complaint can be resolved via a telephone call, which can leave the complainant feeling satisfied. Sometimes this isn’t possible and more evidence and information is needed, so an email or letter may need to be sent to the company. If you have evidence that the item is damaged e.g., a photograph, it is worthwhile including this. If a witness saw the item being damaged, it would be useful to get their name and details. Make sure that you include the date and time of when things occurred. This is important, so that timelines do not get confused later in the process. The company may ask you for more information, to clarify what you mean. It is possible that this may happen. The company usually takes approximately 6-8 weeks to investigate the complaint and resolve it. This could possibly take less time. Companies have their own policies that you should read. Throughout the process the company may need to ask you for more information, which they are allowed to ask for. The next step in the process, is that they decide how to resolve your complaint. They may respond to you by letter, email or ask for you to have a discussion with them. If you are not happy with the outcome of the complaint, and the decision that was made. You can refer the matter to the ombudsman, who works for a separate organisation. The ombudsman would need all of the relevant information about the complaint, so that they could look into the matter. Once all of the relevant information has been sent the ombudsman would carry out a full assessment, to try and resolve the matter. If this wasn’t possible, they would then look at both sides of the argument and the law to see what is acceptable. This is how the complaints procedure works. I know that it can be confusing, and this is why it is worthwhile contacting Zebra Access, if you are making a complaint so that we can assist you when you are deciding how you want to make a complaint. If you have any questions or would like clarification, you can contact Zebra Access and we are happy to help. Thank you.