Comments, Compliments & Complaints Policy & Procedure

This Policy and Procedure has been established to ensure that all customer Comments, Compliments and Complaints are reported to a central point, monitored and recorded in a standard format. All complaints, if necessary, will be investigated by the Senior Management Team who are responsible for closely monitoring and reviewing all complaints thoroughly to ensure a satisfactory conclusion is achieved. This ensures our clients feel confident that their comments, compliments and complaints are recognised, acknowledged, listened to and acted upon promptly and fairly where required and if appropriate.

We welcome Comments, Compliments and Complaints and look upon them as an opportunity to learn, adapt, improve and provide better services.

BulliesOut is committed to ensuring that its work is of the highest quality. We believe that through effective management and investigation of comments, compliments and complaints, we can identify learning to achieve high quality work and continuous improvement as an organisation. The following principles underpin BulliesOut’s approach to handling comments, compliments and complaints.

• BulliesOut recognises that comments, compliments and complaints are an important part of customer feedback.
• The procedure is fair, easy, and as transparent as possible.
• The procedure is accessible to all regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, belief or sexual orientation.

Customer Comments

Definition of a comment: a remark, observation or criticism that may require immediate action but does not require a full investigation. Let us know your thoughts on what we could do better. We will record the details of all comments received to a central register and then pass them on to the Department concerned so that they can look at how improvements can be made.

Customer Compliments

A compliment is any expression of praise or congratulations (for the Charity or a member of its Team) that goes beyond positive recognition. We really appreciate it when people take the time to tell us when things have gone well. It is important for us to celebrate success and continue providing quality services.

If the compliment is about an individual team member, they are informed in writing by their Line Manager and a copy of the compliment and letter is stored in their Personnel File.

Complaint Reporting

Definition of a Complaint: An expression of dissatisfaction, whether verbal or written, and whether justified or not and which requires further investigation.

We will do our very best to correct mistakes and address your concerns in a way that is satisfactory for you. If you have a resolution to your complaint in mind, then please let us know when you contact us. We want to reach the best possible conclusion for all involved.

At BulliesOut we work hard to ensure that our work, events, and activities are well-received and positive experiences. If you have positive comments about our work or how we have helped you, please email mail@bulliesout.com so we can track that feedback and act on it where necessary.

We know that there may be times when we do not meet our own high standards and if this does happen, we want to hear about it, deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again.

Ways To Contact Us

It is simple, you can decide exactly how you would like to get in touch with us:

You can call us on 029 2049 2169. One of our team will be ready and willing to help. Our office is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 4.30pm. Outside of these hours you can always leave us a message and a contact number, and we will return your call as soon as possible.

You can email us at feedback@bulliesout.com

Or you can write to us at:

BulliesOut
T109, Titan House
Cardiff Bay Business Centre
Lewis Road
Cardiff
CF24 5BS

Please include your name, address and a contact telephone number in your email or letter so that we can get back in touch with you easily.

Complaint Reporting Procedure

The following principles underpin BulliesOut’s approach to our complaint’s procedure:

• Making a complaint will not harm or prejudice the service that is given to the complainant. Concerns and complaints are dealt with efficiently, appropriately and are investigated within the agreed time frame.
• Complainants are treated with respect and courtesy and receive appropriate support throughout the handling of the complaint.
• Complainants receive a timely and appropriate response, identifying the outcome of any investigation.
• Action is taken where necessary in the light of the outcome of the complaint. This might include an explanation or an apology and if relevant and appropriate, information on any action taken.
• Learning from complaints will be used to improve the work of BulliesOut and drive forward a culture of continuous improvement.
• It is very important that every effort is made to ensure anyone making a complaint understands the outcome of their complaint.
• BulliesOut will recognise peoples reasoning for making a complaint.

We will always treat you respectfully and with courtesy, give you time to tell us about your feedback, keep you appraised of our progress and provide you with a prompt response. We will also let you know what to do next if you remain unhappy and wish to escalate your complaint further.

From time to time, we may receive complaints that do not relate directly to something that BulliesOut has done or has control over, and we are therefore not able to provide a resolution. We are a charity with limited resources, and we must use these in the best way possible. This can mean not engaging in lengthy debates on issues that are unrelated to our work.

There may be rare occasions when we chose not to respond to a complaint at all.

These include:

• When a complaint is about something that BulliesOut has no direct connection to. we may choose to reply to clear our name, but we are not obliged to do so.
• When someone unreasonably pursues a complaint that we have already responded to. They will be given escalation points, but we may choose not to reply again. We will always inform you of our decision to do this.
• When a complainant is being obviously abusive, prejudiced, or offensive in their manner.
• When a complainant is harassing a staff member.
• When a complaint is incoherent or illegible.
• When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we can chose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.

BulliesOut cannot respond to complaints made anonymously. However, we will investigate the complaint and use the information to improve in any way that we can.

How Long Will I Wait For A Response?

We endeavour to provide a full response to all complaints within ten working days. However, you will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 5 working days of receipt. Where possible, we will deal with it more quickly and if we feel it may take longer, we will let you know.

Who Else Can Help?

BulliesOut is a governed by the Fundraising Regulator and is committed to the highest standards in fundraising practice. If your complaint is to do with fundraising and you feel that it has been unresolved by us, then the Fundraising Regulator may be able to investigate your complaint.

You must contact them within two months of receiving your response from us.

Fundraising Regulator
2nd Floor CAN Mezzanine Building
49-51 East Road
London
N1 6AH
0300 999 3407

Alternatively, if your complaint is related to another area of our work and you do not feel completely satisfied by our response then you can contact The Charity Commission at the address below.

The Charity Commission
PO Box 1227
Liverpool
L69 3UG
0845 3000 218
www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Our Pledge

We treat all feedback, comments and complaints as an opportunity to improve. We are happy to acknowledge the mistakes that we have made, provide an apology necessary and then try to prevent them from happening again in the future.