York Civic Trust strives to be excellent in all that we do but we recognise that this cannot always be the case. When we make a mistake we want and need to be informed. We will use the information to endeavour to put things right and to help us to become more effective.
The following complaints policy and procedure sets out how we will approach any complaints made about us.
Complaints Policy
A complaint can be made by any individual or organisation who wishes to report dissatisfaction about the standards of service, actions or lack of action by York Civic Trust or its staff, volunteers or anybody directly involved in the delivery of our work.
We aim to resolve complaints within 14 working days. Where this is not possible the complainant will receive an update within 14 working days on progress made to date and when they can expect to receive the outcome.
Complainants who have launched a complaint and who are unsatisfied with York Civic Trust’s response to that complaint have the right to appeal. The appeals process is described in the procedure below.
Everyone who makes a complaint will be treated with courtesy and respect. In return, we expect people who make a complaint to communicate their concerns fairly and appropriately. Where complainants harass staff, behave abusively, or unreasonably pursue complaints, we reserve the right to withdraw or modify our complaints procedure.
We will log and monitor all complaints and the results of such complaints and this information will be brought, regularly, to the attention of the Charity’s Trustees in order that we learn from what we do and how we do it. This information will not necessarily be available to the public.
Complaints Procedure
How to make a complaint
You can make a complaint to York Civic Trust in any of the following ways:
- In writing to: Chief Executive, York Civic Trust, 27 Castlegate, York, YO1 9RN
- By email to: info@yorkcivictrust.co.uk
- By phone: 01904 755543
How we will investigate and respond
Within 14 working days of receiving a complaint we will send you either:
- A final response which addresses the complaint; or
- A response which explains why we are still not in a position to make a final response, giving reasons for the further delay and indicating when we expect to be able to provide a final response. This will usually be within 28 days.
- We will assess your complaint to determine the best way to deal with it and identify the issues to be investigated. An investigation will be undertaken by with the Chief Executive or a Trustee of the charity who is independent from the issues being raised. We may need to contact you during this time, and your cooperation will be important to complete the investigation.
Once the investigation has been completed and the appropriate response and action agreed, we will respond to the complainant with the following information:
- A written response describing the details of the complaint
- Comments addressing each of the violations alleged in the complaint
- Explain the investigations undertaken to consider the complaint
- State the findings resulting from the investigation
- Explain any improvements made as a result of the complaint
Appeal Process
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the decisions regarding your complaint, you can appeal the complaint decision.
If you wish to appeal the outcome of the decision you should do so in writing to the Chair of Trustees (to either the address or email above), setting out briefly the nature of the complaint/appeal; the steps already taken; details of the response received; and a statement as to why you remain dissatisfied.
The Chair of Trustees will appoint two Trustees to review all the information held relating to your complaint and will conduct further investigations if they consider that the initial investigation was insufficient.
Once the internal review is complete, you will be informed of our final decision usually within 28 days. If you remain unsatisfied, you can raise your complaint with one of the regulators which govern our work.
External bodies that you may consider referring to include:
- If the complaint relates to our fundraising activities, and you are unhappy with our final response, you can refer your complaint to the the Fundraising Regulator (https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/)
- If you have a complaint regarding another area of our work and do not feel completely satisfied by our response you can raise a complaint with the Charity Commission (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission)