Complaints Procedure
At Smile For Life Children’s Charity we want to delight and surpass your expectations.
After all, without your support we would not be able to continue dramatically changing the lives of disabled and disadvantaged youngsters.
However, we know that there may be times when we do not meet our own high standards. When this does happen we want to hear about it, deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again.
We take complaints very seriously and we treat them as an opportunity to develop. This is why we are always very grateful to hear from people who are willing to take the time to help us improve. We always thank people who contact us about their problems, concerns or worries.
SO, HOW CAN YOU TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS?
It is simple, you can decide exactly how you would like to get in touch with us:
- You can call us on 0191 2844166 one of our friendly team members will be ready and willing to help. Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9.15am to 4.15pm. Outside of these hours you can always leave us a message and a contact number and someone will return your call before midday the next working day.
- You can email us at info@smileforlife.org.uk
- Or you can write to us at:
Smile For Life Children’s Charity
The Old Fire Station
234-236 High Street
Gosforth
Newcastle upon tyne
NE3 1HH
Please include your name, address and contact telephone number in your email or letter so that we can get back in touch with you easily.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
We endeavour to respond fully and conclusively to all complaints within ten working days. However, you will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within the first 5 days of receipt. Wherever possible we will deal with it more quickly, if we think it will take longer we will let you know.
You can contact us in whichever way is most convenient to you and we will respond to you via the same method unless instructed otherwise.
From experience we have found that the best way to resolve a problem quickly is by telephone. This way we can make sure that we fully understand the issue and can gather all of the information that we need to resolve the problem in a fast and effective way.
In more complex situations where an immediate response is not possible, we will investigate the matter and get back to you as quickly as we can. We will record your complaint and between us we can agree on the best way and time to get back in contact with you.
WHAT WE WILL DO
We will work flat out to fix problems, correct mistakes and address concerns in a way that pleases you. Please feel free when contacting us about a complaint, to let us know how you think it could be resolved. We want to reach the best possible outcome for all involved. We will always treat you with courtesy and respect, listen to what you say, keep you informed about our progress, provide you will a prompt response and tell you who to go to if you want to escalate your complaint further.
From time to time we receive complaints that do not relate directly to something that Smile For Life Children’s Charity has done or that we are not in a position to comment on. We are a charity with limited resources and we must use these in the best way possible.
This can mean not engaging in lengthy debates on issues that are unrelated to our work.
There may be rare occasions when we chose not to respond to a complaint at all. These include:
- When a complaint is about something that Smile For Life has no direct connection to. We may choose to reply to clear our name but we are not obliged to.
- When someone unreasonably pursues a complaint that we have already responded to. They will be given escalation points but we may choose not to reply again, we will always inform you of our decision to do this.
- When a complainant is being obviously abusive, prejudiced or offensive in their manner.
- When a complainant is harassing a staff member.
- When a complaint is incoherent or illegible.
- When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we can chose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.
- Smile For Life cannot respond to complaints made anonymously. However, we will investigate the complaint and use the information to improve in any way that we can.
WHO ELSE CAN HELP?
We really hope that we are able to resolve your complaint in an honest, open and satisfactory way. However if after contacting us you are still unhappy then you can write, either by letter or email, directly to our Chair of Trustees. Please outline the details of the complaint, why you have not been satisfied with our response up to now and what you would like us to do to put things right.
Alternatively if your complaint is related to another area of our work and you do not feel completely satisfied by our response then you can contact The Charity Commission at the address below.
The Charity Commission
PO Box 1227
Liverpool
L69 3UG
0845 3000 218
OUR PLEDGE
We treat all comments and complaints as an opportunity to improve. We are happy to acknowledge the mistakes that we have made, sincerely apologise for them and then try to prevent them from happening again in the future. Thank you for helping us to provide a better service.