2.1 LCA Maintenance strives for high standards in service delivery and welcomes feedback from individuals, users of our services on all aspects of our services. Such feedback is invaluable in helping us evaluate and improve our work.
2.2 The objectives of LCA Maintenance complaints policy and procedures are to:
2.3 LCA Maintenance will ensure that we:
3.1 A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by an individual, whether justified or not.
3.2 An individual may make a complaint if they feel LCA Maintenance has:
3.3 This policy and procedure relates only to complaints received about LCA Maintenance and its services.
4.1 It is important to establish the difference between a concern and a complaint. Taking informal concerns seriously at the earliest stage will reduce the likelihood of their developing into formal complaints.
4.2 If you have any concerns about our work please tell a manager or their manager as soon as possible, so they can quickly understand your concerns and try to put things right.
4.3 If you are not happy with the response to your concern and/or you want to make a formal complaint please follow the procedure below.
5.1 LCA Maintenance aims to settle the majority of complaints quickly and satisfactorily by the member of staff who provides the service. The complaint may be resolved quickly by way of an apology or by an acceptable explanation to the individual.
5.2 There are three stages to the complaint’s procedure:
6.1 The complaint can be written or if the individual prefers they can tell someone at LCA Maintenance, or someone else, who will write it down for them. The complainant will need to sign it. A complaint form is available to use at appendix 1
6.2 Individuals wishing to make a complaint should contact the person who provided the service, or their line manager. Alternatively, they can contact us by writing to: Unit 4 Singer Court, Woburn Road industrial estate, Kempston, MK42 7AW
6.3 The complaint should include the complainants name and address, the nature and date of the complaint and how they want to see it resolved. The complaints form can be requested and can be sent to the complainant or collected by the complainant.
6.4 On receipt, each complaint will be allocated a reference number and logged on the complaints register. Complainants must receive an acknowledgement within 3 working days of receipt of a signed complaint.
7.1 All complaints at this stage should be dealt with by a manager or HR. If they need to meet with the complainant, they will do so within seven working days of receiving the written complaint.
7.2 Complaints will be fully investigated, and a written response provided to the complainant within ten working days by the investigator.
7.3 The complainant will receive written confirmation of the outcome of any investigation any recommendations/remedies made, such as reviewing of policies, staff development and training or appropriate improvement to our services.
7.4 Where the complaint is upheld an apology should be offered.
7.5 Occasionally investigations may take longer, particularly if the complaint is complex. Should this be the case a holding letter will be sent after ten working days and a final date given for a conclusion to be reached.
7.6 If an individual remains dissatisfied with the outcome from Stage Two they can appeal within fourteen working days of the date of the outcome and progress to Stage Three.
7.7 The complaints register will be updated, and any pending complaints flagged so they are followed up
8.1 If the complaint cannot be resolved to the complainants satisfaction at stage two, or if the manager feels that the complaint is of a very serious nature, or concerns a manager then it will be referred to the directors.
8.2 If the complaint is about the director then the matter will be discussed with the other director.
8.3 The director will acknowledge receipt within three working days, they will review the Stage Two investigation and recommend one of the following actions within ten working days (from the date the complainant stated they wanted to take the complaint to stage 3):
8.4 The complainant should be informed in writing of the outcome of stage three, the decision reached about this complaint will then be final but other options available to the complainant (as listed below) should be detailed in the letter.
8.5 If after LCA Maintenance has been through the three stages and the complainant is still not satisfied with the result or we cannot resolve the complaint, they should be advised that there is no further right of appeal with LCA Maintenance but they could approach any of the following agencies for advice or to pursue further with the complaint:
This should be done within one month of receiving the outcome from the appeal.
9.1 Complaints received anonymously will be recorded and considered, but action may be limited if further information is required to ensure a full and fair investigation.
10.1 To process a complaint LCA Maintenance will hold personal data about the complainant, which the individual provides, and which other people give in response to the complaint. We will hold this data securely and only use it to address the complaint. The identity of the person making the complaint will only be known to those who need to consider the complaint and will not be revealed to other people or made public. However, it may not be possible to preserve confidentiality in some circumstances, for example, where relevant legislation applied or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties.
10.2 LCA Maintenance will normally destroy complaints files in a secure manner six years after the complaint has been closed.
11.1 Complaints are an important tool which, alongside data provided by exit surveys, stakeholder surveys, user feedback and focus groups, will allow us to learn about the services we provide. They provide a useful source of information about how individuals see our services and how we are serving them. To ensure we can learn from complaints the following data will be collected:
