Complaints policy
Complaints policy
Introduction
At the Churchill Fellowship we aim to conduct ourselves and carry out our activities at the highest standard, and treat everyone we have contact with in a consistent, fair and transparent manner, and with courtesy, but there may be occasions when we are perceived to have fallen short of this aspiration. This policy lays out the process to be followed by anyone wishing to raise a complaint about the Churchill Fellowship, and what you should expect from us.
In receiving a complaint, we will aim to:
- Deal with your complaint quickly.
- Handle it fairly and politely.
- Look into it fully.
- Resolve the problem where possible.
We hope that most problems can be resolved informally. If, however, you do not feel this is satisfactory, then please use our complaints procedure as follows.
Stage 1
Please set out your complaint in writing, by email (office@churchillfellowship.org) or letter (for the attention of the Chief Executive, or the Chair of the Audit, Risk and Governance Subcommittee (AR&G) if the complaint is about the Chief Executive or the Chair of the Trustees). In your letter, please tell us:
- The subject matter of your complaint.
- What happened.
- When it happened.
- Who dealt with you.
- What would you like us to do to put things right.
Please also include copies of any materials to support your complaint and tell us if there is anything we need to know about how to contact you. We will confirm receipt of your complaint and the Chief Executive, or the Chair of the AR&G as the case may be, will then review your complaint and respond to you directly within ten working days. We hope that we can settle complaints as quickly as possible in this way.
If we agree that you had a good reason to complain, we will apologise and try to put things right as soon as we can. If we do not agree or cannot put things right, we will tell you why.
Stage 2
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, please let us know. Depending on the nature of your complaint, it will be forwarded to the Chair of the Trustees.
We aim to give a full reply within 15 working days. If your complaint is complicated, it may take longer. If this happens, we will let you know within 10 working days explaining:
- Why a full reply will take longer.
- What we are doing to deal with your complaint.
- When you can expect an answer.
If we agree that you had a good reason to complain, we will apologise and try to put things right as soon as we can. If we do not agree or cannot put things right, we will tell you why.
Stage 3
If you are still not satisfied with the response you receive, you can:
- Make a serious complaint about the charity at https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity. You can find out more about serious issues on the Charity Commission’s website.
- Make a complaint to the Fundraising Regulator at http://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/complaints/ if it is related to fundraising. A fundraising complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction or concern about the standard of fundraising service, actions or lack of action taken by the charity as a whole, members of staff, or volunteers, which affects an individual or groups of people with whom the charity is involved.
- Make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority at https://www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html if it is related to advertising.
- Make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ if it is related to concerns related to your personal information, including fundraising related activities carried out by the charity.
Your personal information
If you use our complaints procedure, you are agreeing that we can use any personal information you send us for purposes connected with your complaint. We may also give your personal information to other people and organisations if we have to do so by law, or if you have given us permission to do so.
In receiving a complaint, we will aim to:
- Deal with your complaint quickly.
- Handle it fairly and politely.
- Look into it fully.
- Resolve the problem where possible.
We hope that most problems can be resolved informally. If, however, you do not feel this is satisfactory, then please use our complaints procedure as follows.
Stage 1
Please set out your complaint in writing, by email (office@churchillfellowship.org) or letter (for the attention of the Chief Executive, or the Chair of the Audit, Risk and Governance Subcommittee (AR&G) if the complaint is about the Chief Executive or the Chair of the Trustees). In your letter, please tell us:
- The subject matter of your complaint.
- What happened.
- When it happened.
- Who dealt with you.
- What would you like us to do to put things right.
Please also include copies of any materials to support your complaint and tell us if there is anything we need to know about how to contact you. We will confirm receipt of your complaint and the Chief Executive, or the Chair of the AR&G as the case may be, will then review your complaint and respond to you directly within ten working days. We hope that we can settle complaints as quickly as possible in this way.
If we agree that you had a good reason to complain, we will apologise and try to put things right as soon as we can. If we do not agree or cannot put things right, we will tell you why.
Stage 2
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, please let us know. Depending on the nature of your complaint, it will be forwarded to the Chair of the Trustees.
We aim to give a full reply within 15 working days. If your complaint is complicated, it may take longer. If this happens, we will let you know within 10 working days explaining:
- Why a full reply will take longer.
- What we are doing to deal with your complaint.
- When you can expect an answer.
If we agree that you had a good reason to complain, we will apologise and try to put things right as soon as we can. If we do not agree or cannot put things right, we will tell you why.
Stage 3
If you are still not satisfied with the response you receive, you can:
- Make a serious complaint about the charity at https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity. You can find out more about serious issues on the Charity Commission’s website.
- Make a complaint to the Fundraising Regulator at http://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/complaints/ if it is related to fundraising. A fundraising complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction or concern about the standard of fundraising service, actions or lack of action taken by the charity as a whole, members of staff, or volunteers, which affects an individual or groups of people with whom the charity is involved.
- Make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority at https://www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html if it is related to advertising.
- Make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ if it is related to concerns related to your personal information, including fundraising related activities carried out by the charity.
Your personal information
If you use our complaints procedure, you are agreeing that we can use any personal information you send us for purposes connected with your complaint. We may also give your personal information to other people and organisations if we have to do so by law, or if you have given us permission to do so.