1. Introduction

We define a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction about our organisation, our staff, our partners, or anyone else acting on our behalf. A complaint can be received verbally, by phone, by email, or in writing. A complaint may not necessarily contain the word complaint, so for guidance any feedback received which may have a reputational or commercial impact on PowerON should be managed using the guidance set out in this document. For the avoidance of doubt, please check with your line manager if you are unsure whether feedback received constitutes a complaint.

We may also handle negative feedback as a complaint, even it is not formally logged as a complaint by the customer, if we believe this will help us give a proportionate response to improve the outcome for the customer, or to improve our process for the future.

 

2. Our Policy Aims

Our policy is to:

• Provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint.
• Publicise the existence of the procedure, so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint.
• Ensure that everyone at PowerON knows what to do if a complaint is received.
• Make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way.
• Make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired.
• Gather and analyse information which helps us to improve what we do, in accordance with ISO9001.
• Handle all complaint information sensitively, telling only those who need to know and following any relevant data protection requirements.

 

3. Receiving Complaints

The person who receives the complaint should:

• Capture as much detail as possible, including the name, contact details, role and organisation of the customer; the nature of the complaint, and where the customer’s expectations have not been met; if known, what the customer feels needs to be done to resolve the incident.
• Explain that we have a complaints procedure, and the timescale for initial response
• If appropriate, ask the customer to send a written account by email to provide additional details, or to describe the issue in their own words.
• Communicate the complaint to the appropriate person within the business – this will usually be the line manager responsible for the team mentioned in the complaint. This would usually be done verbally in the first instance, with confirmation by email, copying in the Service Delivery Director and the Quality Manager.

The Service Delivery Director and Quality Manager, with line manager if required, will:

• Decide who should handle the complaint, and communicate the issue to the relevant people.
• Log the complaint on the customer complaint log within 2 working days.
• Monitor the investigation to ensure that it is resolved within agreed timescales.

 

4. Resolving Complaints

4.1          Acknowledgement and response

The complaint will be formally acknowledged by email within 2 working days. The acknowledgement will confirm who is handling the complaint, and when the complainant can expect a reply, and will include a link to the complaints procedure.

The individual nominated to handle the complaint should investigate, and identify actions required to:

• Rectify the issue for the complainant (immediate corrective action)
• Prevent the issue from recurring (long term preventative measures).

The complaint handler should then agree the proposed actions with relevant line managers, and organise a conversation with the complainant to explain how we plan to resolve the issue. Once agreement has been reached, we will implement the agreed actions, and contact the customer to confirm that they are content with the solution provided.

 

4.2          Escalation

If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved, they can request that the complaint is escalated. At this point, the complaint will be passed to the Director responsible for the area, or to the Managing Director if the Director has already been involved.

The request will be acknowledged within 2 working days, confirming who will deal with the case, and timescales for response.

The Director or MD will then investigate, and provide a definitive response within 10 working days. If this is not possible (for example, if the investigation is still ongoing), a progress report will be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given. The decision taken at this stage is final.

4.3          Closing the complaint

Once the solution has been agreed with the customer and implemented, the complaint should be closed off on the Customer Complaint Log, with a summary of actions taken.

Key emails regarding the complaint (particularly the outline of the issue and resolution) should be stored within the Customer Complaints folder within the BMS, in a folder named in the format Complaint Number – Company Name.