Dealing With You Fairly

We always take complaints seriously and aim to investigate them fairly. If you make a complaint we will:

• Aim to send you an acknowledgement letter or e-mail within two working days of receipt and we will tell you the name of the officer who is dealing with your complaint.

• Send you a written response to your initial complaint within ten working days.

• If you progress your complaint to either Stage 2 or Stage 3 of our Complaint Handling Procedures, we will send you an acknowledgement letter or e-mail within two working days and a full written response within ten working days.

• Apologise and, where appropriate, include an explanation of what went wrong and what we have done to put things right.

• Sometimes, because of the complexity of the circumstances and the need to contact several service areas or other organisations, your complaint may take longer to investigate. In these cases you will receive an interim reply within ten working days explaining what has happened so far and the date a full response can be expected; usually within 20 working days. If our investigations take longer than 20 days we will ensure that you are kept updated with regards to our progress.

• Use the outcome of complaints and any remedial action as a positive method of monitoring our performance and to make continual improvement to our services.

• If the Corporate Customer Feedback Policy does not cover your complaint, as there is a statutory right of appeal, then we will advise you of the course of action you need to take.