Complaints
Policy Statement
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether it is justified or not.
Move it or Lose it is committed to providing exceptional service, however sometimes mistakes are made. When you feel something has gone wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards. We will take any concern or complaint seriously, will look into it promptly and will aim to resolve it as quickly as possible.
This complaints policy and procedure is for those who feel dissatisfied with our service. You have a right to complain and have it investigated. Move it or Lose it aims to learn from any mistakes and the complaints procedure is seen as very important in the continuous improvement cycle.
All staff, network members, master trainers and Board members are required to read, understand and comply with this policy and its procedures. We will keep a register of all complaints, this will be reviewed annually by our Board and will be part of the process of monitoring our services.
Complaints Policy
The objectives of the Move it or Lose it complaints policy and procedures are:
- To ensure people know how to make a complaint and how it will be dealt with
- To give people a fair and effective way to make a complaint to us
- To ensure that complaints are dealt with consistently, fairly and within a clear time frame
- To ensure that complaints are monitored to help us improve our service
Move it or Lose it will make sure that we:
- Listen carefully to all complaints and treat them as confidential, where possible
- Investigate all complaints fully and objectively within the time frames laid out in this document
- Notify the complainant of the outcome of our investigation and advise them on next steps if necessary
- Advise the complainant of any action Move it or Lose it will take to ensure there is no repeat of what has caused the complaint
- Make available, an annual report, detailing the number of complaints received, the outcomes and any actions taken
- Record, manage and store complaints in line with GDPR
This policy and procedure relates only to complaints received about Move it or Lose it and it’s services.
Complaints Procedure
If you have concern about Move it or Lose it and it’s services please contact us as soon as possible so we can try and put things right. Taking informal concerns seriously at an early stage reduces the likelihood of them becoming formal complaints.
Move it or Lose it aims to resolve the majority of concerns quickly and satisfactorily by way of an apology or acceptable explanation.
If you are unhappy with the response to any concern raised, you can make a formal complaint by following the procedure below.
The Move it or Lose it complaints procedure has three possible stages:
- Stage One – Complaint
- Stage Two – Investigation
- Stage Three – Appeal
Stage One – The Complaint
- The complaint can be submitted in writing, including via email. If the complainant prefers they can verbally explain the issue to someone at Move it or Lose it, who will write it down for them – this will need to be signed by the complainant
- The complaint should be made to the person who provided the service you are complaining about or to complaints@moveitorloseit.co.uk
- The complaint should include the complainant’s name and contact details, the nature and date of the complaint and, if known, the way they would like it to be resolved. The complainant can request a copy of the Move it or Lose it complaints form if they wish to use it (Appendix One)
- All complaints received will be allocated a reference number and will be recorded in the complaints register
- Complainants will receive an acknowledgement within 7 days of a signed complaint being received.
Stage Two – The Investigation
- All complaints, at this stage, will be dealt with by one of the Move it or Lose it directors
- We aim to fully investigate all complaints and provide a written response to the complainant within 14 days of the initial acknowledgment. This will include confirmation of the outcome of the investigation and any recommendations or remedies made
- If the complaint requires longer to fully investigate, a holding letter/email will be sent within 14 days of the initial acknowledgment and, when possible, a final date for the outcome of the investigation will be given
- If the complaint is upheld an apology will be offered
- If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation they can progress to stage three – appeal, within 14 days of the outcome
- The complaints register will be updated.
Stage Three – The Appeal
- If the complaint cannot be resolved at stage two an appeal will be dealt with by the CEO or the Board
- Receipt of an appeal will be acknowledged within 7 days of submission
- The CEO or Board will review the investigation and recommend one of the following actions within 14 days of receipt of the appeal
- Uphold the outcome of the initial investigation
- Make changes to the recommendations/outcome of the initial investigation
- The complainant will be informed of the outcome of their appeal, in writing. The decision about this complaint will then be final
- If the complainant is still not satisfied once they have been through all 3 stages of the complaints procedure they will be advised that there is no further right of appeal with Move it or Lose it but they could approach one of the following for advice:
- A solicitor
- Citizens Advice Bureau
- EMD UK
Data Protection
When dealing with a complaint Move it or Lose it will hold data about the complainant, which the individual provides and also which other people may give in response to the complaint. Move it or Lose it will hold this data securely and only use it in relation to the complaint. The identity of the person making the complaint will only be made known to those who need to consider the complaint and will not be revealed to anyone else or be made public by Move it or Lose it. It may not, however, be possible to maintain confidentiality in some circumstances e.g., where relevant legislation applies or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties.
Move it or Lose it will normally destroy complaints files in a secure manner six years after a complaint has been closed.
Monitoring
Complaints are an important part of helping Move it or Lose it learn about the services we provide. They are a useful source of information about how people see our services and how we are serving them. To ensure that we learn from any complaints Move it or Lose it will collect the following data:
- Complainant’s name and contact details
- Name and role of person dealing with the complaint
- Date of complaint and response
- Nature of the complaint
- Action taken/recommendations made following a complaint
- Lessons learned
Information relating to complaints will be reviewed by the Management Team on a regular basis and will be reported annually to the Board. Wherever possible this information will be used to improve and develop our service.