Comments, compliments & complaints
National Eczema Society values your comments, compliments and complaints, and makes every effort to provide a high standard of service and to treat all members, supporters and services users equally. We try continuously to improve our services and we value all feedback that will help us do this. In particular, if something has gone wrong, we would like to know so that we can prevent it happening again. So please let us know how we are doing!
When providing feedback, please will you follow the Society’s Comments, compliments and complaints procedure as explaind below. This enables us to respond to you promptly and fully.
We review all feedback on a regular basis. This helps us develop the services and support that works best for you, so do reach out to us with your thoughts. We also produce an annual report summarising your feedback received during the year for our Board of Trustees.
Comments and compliments
If you are happy with the service and support the Society provides, we would love to hear from you. You can email us at info@eczema.org, telephone 020 7281 3553, or write to us at 11 Murray Street, London NW1 9RE.
Complaints
We also want to know if there is any part of our services that you are unhappy with. We take all feedback seriously and always aim to deal with complaints in a timely and professional manner, putting right any shortcomings that are within our control.
How to make a complaint
The first thing to do if you are unhappy about any aspect of our services is to bring this to the attention of a member of staff. They will try to resolve your concerns immediately. If you are unhappy with the way your complaint was handled by the staff member, or don’t know who to speak to, then please contact us usingthe details listed in the Comments & compliments section above.
What you can do to help us deal effectively and quickly with your complaint
Contact us as soon as possible giving clear details so we can endeavour to resolve the issue promptly. Specify clearly what aspect of the Society’s service or activity you wish to complain about.
Including the following details will help us to effectively and quickly investigate your complaint:
● The specific area, service or resource to which the complaint applies.
● Your name, address and contact details (email address and/or telephone number): this is essential as we will not investigate anonymous complaints.
● Outline the nature of your complaint as precisely as possible. This helps us to investigate further and resolve the issue. Please include details such as what went wrong, when and where it happened, who was involved, and what corrective action you would like in response to your feedback.
Please let us know if you have already reported the complaint, and if any action was taken previously.
We endeavour at all times to treat our services users, supporters and other stakeholders with respect, and we appreciate the same standards of behaviour in return.
What we promise to do to help resolve your complaint
Your complaint will be dealt with in a professional and confidential manner. Your complaint will be assigned quickly to the most appropriate person to deal with the complaint, who will investigate the matter fully and communicate regularly with you until the issue has been resolved.
How and when we will respond
We will acknowledge any e-mail complaints within 5 working days of receipt. Postal correspondence will receive an answer/acknowledgement within 5 working days. You will receive a full response within 15 working days, or be informed during this period if there will be any delay in our response and the reasons.
We will always try to respond positively and effectively to complaints and to put right any shortcomings that are within our control, so that any complaint is resolved satisfactorily and quickly.
If you wish to take the matter further
If, after you have received this response, you still think that the matter has not been resolved, you should contact the Chair of the Society’s Board of Trustees. Your comments will then be reviewed by the Chair or another Trustee (who has had no previous dealings with the issue) and they will review the matter. You will receive a response, in writing, giving you the findings and recommendations in answer to your comments within a further 21 working days. This is the final stage of our complaints process.
How to make a complaint to an external charity regulator
If you feel the Society has not dealt with your complaint satisfactorily, you may wish to take your complaint to an external regulatory body (contact details listed below). Generally, regulators focus on more serious issues. Some external bodies will expect a complainant to have tried to resolve the complaint directly with the charity before getting involved. The UK’s primary charity regulators are the Charity Commission for England and Wales, The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), and the Fundraising Regulator.
How to make a complaint to an external charity regulator
If you feel the Society has not dealt with your complaint satisfactorily, you may wish to take your complaint to an external regulatory body (contact details listed below). Generally, regulators focus on more serious issues. Some external bodies will expect a complainant to have tried to resolve the complaint directly with the charity before getting involved. The UK’s primary charity regulators are the Charity Commission for England and Wales, The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), and the Fundraising Regulator.
England and Wales – The Charity Commission can be contacted via an online form on its website, by post sent to PO Box 1227, Liverpool, L69 3UG, or by email via the Charity Commission website. Read the Charity Commission’s guidance about complaints,
Scotland – The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) encourages people to contact it via an online form on its website. They can also be contacted by writing to OSCR, 2nd Floor, Quadrant House, 9 Riverside Drive, Dundee DD1 4NY, telephoning 01382 220446, or sending an email to info@oscr.org.uk.
Northern Ireland – The Charity Commission of Northern Ireland can be contacted via its website
If your complaint concerns fundraising, you will need to contact the Fundraising Regulator. Visit the Fundraising Regulator website to find out how they work with other organisations across the UK to regulate fundraising.