Complaints Policy

Handling Complaints Policy

Friends of Vellore UK is committed to providing a high-quality service to all its supporters and beneficiaries working in an open and accountable way that builds trust and respect.  When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it.  This will help us to improve our standards.

If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details. You can complain:

  • in person
  • by telephone
  • through a Trustee or member of staff
  • through an advocate or representative
  • by letter
  • by email

Where someone complains orally we will make a written record and provide a copy of it within ten working days.

Our contact details are: Friends of Vellore UK, 2A Chalk Lane, Cockfosters, Barnet, EN4 9JQ, telephone 03333 445245, email office@friendsofvellore.org

We deal with anonymous complaints under the same procedure; however it is better if you can provide contact details so we can tell you the outcome of our investigation.

You should complain as soon as you can after the date on which the event occurred or came to your notice. If you complain more than twelve months later, we may not be able to investigate properly. But we shall also consider whether you had good reason for not making the complaint sooner and whether, despite the delay, it is still possible to investigate the complaint effectively and fairly.

The Chair of Trustees has overall responsibility for dealing with all complaints made about the charity.

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Charity Commission.

Complaints procedure

  1. We will send you a letter or email acknowledging receipt of your complaint within ten working days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure and give you the name and contact details of the person investigating it.
  2. We will then investigate your complaint. We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation. We aim to have all complaints finished within 28 working days unless we agree a different time scale with you.
  3. When we have finished investigating, we will arrange to meet with you to discuss the outcome, and write to you with:
      • details of the findings;
      • any action we have taken; and
      • our proposals to resolve your complaint.
  1. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including our suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
  2. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another Trustee to review the decision.
  3. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
  4. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Charity Commission or other Government Regulator as appropriate about your complaint. This website gives details of who to contact depending on the type of complaint: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity

Review of this Policy

We will keep this policy under regular review. This policy was approved in September 2017. It was updated in October 2021.