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Comments, Compliments and Complaints

How do I make a comment, compliment or complaint

Tell us what you think – you can contact us in the following ways:

By phone on: 023 80368636

By writing to: Age UK Southampton, Freemantle & Shirley Community Centre, Randolph Street, Southampton, SO15 3HE

In person: at the address above

By using our Comments, Compliments and Complaints form available at reception or from a member of our team

By sending an e-mail to info@ageuksouthampton.org.uk

On our website – www.ageuk.org.uk/southampton

We welcome all feedback

Comments

We would like to hear from you if you have a suggestion on how we can improve our service. You can complete a form available from Reception or use any of the other methods above.

Compliments

If you are happy with any part of the service you receive please tell us. You may write to us, complete a form or tell any member of staff. We will record your views and pass them on to the people involved. If we’ve done well, please tell your friends!

Complaints

We aim to provide the best possible service to customers. However, if we get it wrong, we want to know about it and will try to put things right as quickly as possible.

Our aim

We take complaints very seriously. While we try to provide a good service, we know that sometimes things go wrong. We have developed a complaints procedure in response to this. 

We aim to respond to complaints quickly and fairly and we will try to sort out any mistake or misunderstanding straight away. Sometimes it may take a little longer, but we will tell you how long it will take.

What we learn from complaints

We keep records of all the complaints we receive and monitor them regularly. This helps us to:

  • identify areas of service where we need to make changes and improvements; and

  • make sure we are dealing with complaints effectively and consistently. 

What should I do if I am not happy with one of your services?

Stage one

The people who can best deal with a complaint are those who provide the service. You should speak or write to the Head of Services or contact the Reception Team (details are above) and let them know what the problem is. We can usually sort out mistakes and misunderstandings quickly and informally at this stage. We will acknowledge your complaint in 2 working days and investigate the complaint and reply within 20 working days thereafter. In exceptional circumstances this deadline may be extended – you will be informed in writing, at the earliest convenient time, of the timescales and reason for the extension. 

Our response will include details of who to complain to if you are not happy with the response at stage one. 

What should I do if I am not happy with this response? Take your complaint to stage two.

Stage two

If you are not happy with the Head of Services reply, you can complain to the Chief Officer. It is best to let the Chief Officer know which parts of our response at stage one you are not happy with.

The Chief Officerwill acknowledge receipt of the stage 2 request within two working days, review the investigation carried out by the Head of Services and reply within 10 working days thereafter.   

What should I do if I’m still not happy? Take your complaint to stage three.

Stage three

If you are not satisfied with the reply from the Chief Officer, then you will be given the opportunity to relay your complaint to the Board of Trustees who will address the issue at the next available Board meeting. The Board will consider all the information available and reach a decision within 7 working days of the meeting. They will notify you and the Chief Officer of their decision in writing. 

The Board’s decision is final. 

To our clients

We take complaints very seriously and assure you of our best intentions at all times

  • We’ll make sure you know how to make your voice heard through our complaints procedure.

  • We train our staff so they know how to deal with your complaint.

  • We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days.

  • We will respond fully within 20 working days for a first-stage complaint,10 working days for a second-stage complaint and 7 working days for a third-stage complaint.

  • We will investigate your complaint thoroughly and without taking sides.

  • We will keep your complaint confidential and be fair to everybody involved.

  • We will let you know the progress of your complaint.

  • We will apologise when we’ve made a mistake, and immediately take steps to fix the problem.

  • We will learn lessons from where we’ve gone wrong to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes in the future.