Complaints Procedure of tastelife

Publicised Contact Details for Complaints:

Written complaints may be sent to tastelife at Hales, Red Lane, Burton Green Kenilworth, CV8 1PB or by e-mail at admin@tastelifeuk.org. Verbal complaints may be made by phone to 07845 089400 or in person to any of tastelife’s volunteers or trustees at any of our events or activities.

Receiving Complaints

The person who receives a phone or in person complaint should try to to deal with it and if possible resolve it straight away if that’s possible. Serious complaints (even if they are resolved at the time) and any complaints that cannot be resolved at the time need to be recorded. We trust our people to recognise which complaints need to be recorded as follows:

Write down the facts of the complaint
Take the complainant’s name, address and telephone number
Note down the relationship of the complainant to tastelife (for example: client, member)
Tell the complainant that we have a complaints procedure
Tell the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take
Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by post or by email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.

Resolving Complaints

Stage One

In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate. Whether or not the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be passed to the administrator or CEO within one week On receiving the complaint, administrator/CEO records it in the complaints log. If it has not already been resolved, they will investigate it and to take appropriate action. If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a fair opportunity to respond. Complaints should be acknowledged by the person handling the complaint within a week. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint and when the person complaining can expect a reply, and how the reply will be received (phone/email/letter). A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached. Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given. Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Stage Two

If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Charity level. At this stage, the complaint will be passed to the trustees. The request for Charity level review should be acknowledged within a week of receiving it. The acknowledgement should say who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply, and how the reply will be received (phone/email/letter). The trustees may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage One. If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond. The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage One should be kept informed of what is happening. Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given. Whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint. The decision taken at this stage is final, unless the Trustees decides it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution. The complainant can complain to the Charity Commission at any stage. Information about the kind of complaints the Commission can involve itself in can be found on their website at: www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/cc47.aspx

Variation of the Complaints Procedure

The Trustees may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about the Chair should not also have the Chair as the person leading a Stage Two review.

Monitoring and Learning from Complaints

Complaints are reviewed annually to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.