COMPLAINTS POLICY STATEMENT

We treat a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not from a user of or partner to Ken Bate Associates Limited. Quality of service is an important measure of the effectiveness and we believe that learning from complaints is a powerful way of helping to develop and increase trust among the people who use our services.

SCOPE OF POLICY

Our policy covers complaints about: a) the standard of service we provide b) the behaviour of our staff, and c) any action or lack of action by Ken Bate Associates Limited.
Abusive complaints
Abusive complaints and/or behaviour will not be tolerated and anything containing offensive language will not be treated seriously by us as a complaint. We reserve the right to take action against perpetrators of abuse.
How to make a complaint:
1. Online using our website: www.kenbateassociates.com
2. In person; including by telephone
3. By email: info@kenbateassociates.com
4. By writing a letter: Ken Bate Associates Limited; 18 Church Street; Ashton-underLyne; Tameside; OL6 6XE

Stage 1

All issues that have the potential to become complaints, and those that are presented as complaints to staff must be logged and dated. This log will be subject to audit. This is the first opportunity for us to resolve your dissatisfaction, and the majority of complaints will be dealt with at this stage. In the first instance, we will endeavour to resolve your complaint by the manager of the area against whom the complaint has been made.

  • Acknowledgement within 5 working days
  • Full response within 20 working days

Stage 2

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request a review by the Managing Director.
To start Stage Two we require a request from you within five working days of you receiving your Stage One response.

  • Acknowledgement within 5 working days
  • Full response within 20 working days

Extending time limits
We aim to complete all complaints within the timescales noted; however, if a complaint is very complex it may occasionally be necessary to extend the time limit.

Following any stage of the procedure, a complainant has a maximum of five days from the date of the final response to request that their complaint be progressed to the next stage.

Our standards for handling complaints

We treat all complaints seriously provided that they are not made abusively or offensively and comply with the guidance above.
You will be treated with courtesy and fairness at all times.

  • We will treat your complaint in confidence and we will deal with your complaint promptly.
  • We will acknowledge receipt of a written complaint (online or otherwise) within five working days and we will send you a full reply within 20 working days of receipt.
  • All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.

    • Policy Objectives:

    The action we take to put matters right in response to a complaint, can include any combination of the remedies set out in the ‘menu’ below. The remedy we choose will be proportionate and appropriate to the failure in service:
    1. A sincere and meaningful apology (explaining what happened and or what went wrong) – an apology is not an acceptance of liability under Section 2 of the Compensation Act 2006.
    2. Putting things right.
    3. Training or supervising staff.

    Recording complaints

    We will log all complaints so that we can monitor the types of problems, the best way to sort them out and how long we are taking to deal with them. This also helps us to take a closer look at how we can improve our own service delivery. We will handle your information in line with data-protection legislation.

    POLICY CONTEXT THIS POLICY SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FOLLOWING POLICIES:

    • Equality and Diversity Policy
    • Support and guidance Policy