Compliments & Complaints

Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure

You can read through this policy and procedure or go directly to the sections you want to read by clicking on these links:

1. Policy statements

1.1 Turn2us strives for high standards in service delivery and welcomes feedback from individuals, intermediaries, charities and anyone who works with us, on all aspects of our services. Such feedback is invaluable in helping us evaluate and improve our work.

1.2 The objectives of the Turn2us Compliments and Complaints Policy are to:

Ensure everyone knows how to provide feedback and how a complaint will be handled
Ensure that complaints are dealt with consistently, fairly and sensitively within clear time frames
Provide individuals with a fair and effective way to complain about our work
Ensure that compliments and complaints are monitored and used to improve our services.

1.3 Turn2us will ensure that we:

Listen carefully to complaints and treat complaints as confidential, where possible
Record, store and manage all complaints accurately and in accordance with the Data Protection Act
Investigate the complaint fully, objectively and within the stated time frame
Notify the complainant of the results of the investigation and any right of appeal
Inform the complainant of any action that will be implemented in order to ensure that there is no re-occurrence
Report, on a quarterly basis, the number of compliments and complaints received, the outcomes of investigations and any actions taken.

2. Definition of a Complaint

2.1 A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by an individual, whether justified or not.

An individual may make a complaint if they feel Turn2us has:
Failed to provide a service or an acceptable standard of service
Delayed in providing a service
Made a mistake in the way it has provided a service
Failed to act in a proper way
Provided an unfair service.

2.2 This policy and procedure relates only to complaints received about Turn2us and its services. Individuals who make complaints about partner organisations will be notified in writing within one working day of receipt of the complaint that they need to complain to the organisation they have the complaint with; and will be provided with contact details, where possible.

3. Compliments and Complaints Procedure

3.1 Compliments

Any verbal or written compliments will be recorded by the member of staff receiving the compliment and be passed to the appropriate manager for recording on the Compliments Register. Any member of staff identified as being the subject or contributing to any matter giving rise to the compliment will be notified within three working days. Feedback on compliments will be shared with employees at appropriate timings.

3.2 Complaints

There are 3 stages to the complaints procedure:

Stage One – Complaint
Stage Two – Appeal
Stage Three- Independent Review.

Stage One

3.3 Turn2us aims to settle the majority of complaints quickly and satisfactorily by the member of staff or the relevant manager who provides the service. The complaint may be resolved quickly by way of an apology, by providing the service required or by providing an acceptable explanation to the individual.

3.4 Individuals wishing to make a complaint should contact the person who provided the service, or their manager. Alternatively they can contact Turn2us by emailing info@turn2us.org.uk or writing to: Turn2us, PO Box 6983, Cardiff CF15 5DA or use the Turn2us Feedback Form. Turn2us will explore each of these options with each individual, but if he/she states a preference for fax then the fax number 01443 827616 will also be offered.

3.5 If the individual prefers to make a verbal complaint then the person receiving the call will enter details on the ‘Verbal Complaints Form’. If the person is willing to, or asks to, submit a written complaint the ‘Written Complaints Form’ will be sent to them on the same day, or the individual can download a copy of the form from the website.

3.6 On receipt, each complaint will be allocated a unique reference number and logged on the Complaints Register. Details of the complaint will be sent immediately to the Complaints Investigator.

3.7 Complaints will be acknowledged within one working day. The complaints will be fully investigated and a written response provided to the complainant within 20 working days by the Investigator.

3.8 The Complaints Register will be updated and any pending complaints flagged so they are followed up.

3.9 Individuals will be advised that if they are not satisfied with the response to their complaint, they may appeal within 14 working days and progress to Stage Two.

Stage Two

3.10 Turn2us Director will appoint a manager to investigate the matter independently and communicate the outcome and any action(s) to the complainant in writing within 20 working days. This person may need to contact the complainant to clarify the issues, conduct the investigation and explore resolution. The complainant will receive written confirmation of the outcome of any investigation and any recommendations/remedies made, such as, staff development and training, reviewing of policies or appropriate improvement to Turn2us services. The outcome should not refer to any individual employees or groups of employees within Turn2us.

3.11 Occasionally, investigations may take longer, particularly if the complaint is complex.

Should this be the case a holding letter will be sent after 20 working days and a final date given for a conclusion being reached.

3.12 If an individual remains dissatisfied with the outcome from Stage Two they can request an Independent Review within 14 working days of the date of the outcome and progress to Stage Three.

Stage Three

3.13 The Turn2us Director and/or Chair of Trustees will review the Stage Two investigation and recommend one of the following actions, within 20 working days:

Uphold the action taken by Turn2us at Stage Two
Changes to the Stage Two recommendations/actions.

3.14 The Turn2us Director is responsible for implementing the Compliments and Complaints Procedure.

4. Anonymous Compliments and Complaints

4.1 Compliments and complaints received anonymously will be recorded and considered, but action may be limited if further information is required to ensure a full and fair investigation.

5. Data Protection

5.1 To process a complaint, Turn2us will hold personal data about the complainant, which the individual provides and which other people give in response to investigating the complaint. Turn2us will hold this data securely and only use it to help address the complaint. The identity of the person making the complaint will only be made known to those who need to consider the complaint and will not be revealed to other people or made public by Turn2us. However, it may not be possible to preserve confidentiality in some circumstances, for example, where relevant legislation applies or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties.

5.2 Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, individuals have a right to obtain a copy of their personal data. However, there are exceptions to this right. Turn2us will normally destroy its compliments and complaints files in a secure manner six years after the compliment has been made or the complaint closed.

6. Monitoring

6.1 Compliments and complaints are an important tool which, alongside data provided by exit surveys, user feedback and focus groups, will allow Turn2us to learn about the services we provide. They provide a useful source of information about how individuals see our services and how we are serving them. To ensure Turn2us can learn from compliments and complaints, the following data will be collected:

Compliments:

Name and address
Nature of the compliment
Date of compliment
Action(s) taken/recommendations made in response to the compliment, if appropriate.

Complaints:

Name and address
Name of person dealing with the complaint
Date of complaint and response date
Nature of complaint
Action(s) taken/recommendations made in response to the complaint
Lessons learnt.

6.2 Compliments and complaints information will be considered on a regular basis by the Turn2us Management Team and reported quarterly to the Elizabeth Finn Care Trustee Board. Wherever possible the data will be used to improve and develop the service.

Adopted: September 2008

Revised: July 2009

Review date: June 2010

Policy Owner : Turn2us Director

Turn2us_Feedback_Form_(PDF_file_size_62kb)

Turn2us_Complaints_Procedure_Flow_Chart_(PDF_file_size_177kb)

Last updated: 23 April 2012