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Complaints Procedure

Complaints Handling Procedure

 

  1. Definitions and Interpretation
    • In this Complaints Handling Procedure the following expressions have the following meanings:

 

“Business Day”means, any day (other than Saturday or Sunday) on which ordinary banks are open for their full range of normal business in the United Kingdom;
“Complaint”means a complaint about our goods AND/OR services, about our customer service, or about our employees, agents, or subcontractors;
“Complaints Policy”means our customer complaints policy, available from http://www.PureGenex.co.uk/complaints-policy ;
“Complaint Reference”means a unique code assigned to a Complaint that will be used to track that Complaint;
“Customer”means a customer of ours and includes potential customers (no purchase necessary);
“Data Protection Policy”means our data protection policy, which is encompassed within the Privacy Policy, available from http://www.PureGenex.co.uk/privacy-policy;
“Decision Letter”means a letter informing a Customer of the outcome of their Complaint;
“External Resolution”means the referral of a Complaint to an external body or organisation for resolution by a Customer if that Customer is not satisfied with the outcome of this Complaints Handling Procedure;
“Investigation Report”means a report detailing the investigation of a Complaint;
“Recommendation”means the recommended resolution to a Complaint made by the staff member handling a Complaint; and
“Resolution Action”means the available actions to be taken in response to a Complaint as detailed in Section 6.

 

  1. What this Complaints Handling Procedure Covers
    • This Complaints Handling Procedure applies to Complaints pertaining to the sale of goods AND/OR the provision of services by us, to our customer service and to our employees, agents and subcontractors.
    • For the purposes of this Complaints Handling Procedure, any reference to us, PureGenex also includes our employees, agents and subcontractors.
    • Complaints may relate to any of our activities and may include (but not be limited to):
      • The quality of our customer service;
      • The behaviour and/or professional competence of our employees, agents, or subcontractors;
      • Delays, defects or other problems associated with the sale of goods;
      • Delays, defects, poor workmanship or other problems associated with the provision of services;
    • The following do not constitute Complaints. Customers raising such questions or matters should be addressed accordingly:
      • General questions about our goods AND/OR services;
      • Returns of damaged, faulty, incorrect or unwanted goods for exchange or refund in accordance with our Terms and Conditions of Sale where there is no further complaint;
      • Matters concerning contractual or other legal disputes;
      • Formal requests for the disclosure of information including, but not limited to, those made under the Data Protection Act;

 

  1. Receipt and Recording of Complaints
    • Customers may make Complaints using any of the following methods:

 

  • Upon receipt of Complaints, the following steps shall be taken within 10 Business Days:
    • If a written Complaint is received by email, a Director shall acknowledge receipt via email;
    • If a Contact Form is received, a Director shall acknowledge receipt via email;
  • All Complaints shall be given a Complaint Reference and the investigation thereof shall begin within 10 Business Days.
  • All Complaints shall be acknowledged in writing within 15 business days of receipt. The acknowledgement shall inform the Customer of their Complaint Reference, by whom their Complaint is to be handled, and shall include copies of our Customer Complaint Policy and this Complaints Handling Procedure.

 

  1. Complaint Information
    • Customers are advised in our Complaints Policy that the following information should be provided in as much detail as is reasonably possible when making a Complaint:
      • The Customer’s name, address, telephone number and email address, indicating any preferred method of communication;
      • If the Customer is being represented by a third party, the information set out in Section 4.1.1 should be provided in reference to both parties;
      • If the Complaint relates to a particular transaction, the order number or invoice number;
      • If the Complaint relates to a particular employee, agent, or subcontractor, the name and, where appropriate, position of that employee, agent, or subcontractor;
      • Further details of the Complaint including, as appropriate, all times, dates, events, and people involved;
      • Details of any documents or other evidence on which the Customer wishes to rely in support of the Complaint;
      • Details of how the Customer would like PureGenex to resolve the Complaint. Whilst we undertake to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests, however, we are not bound to take any action beyond that which we may be contractually or otherwise legally obliged to take.

 

  • If the information detailed in Section 4.1 is missing, insufficiently detailed, or incomplete, the Customer should be contacted within 10 Business Days, requesting further information.

 

  1. Complaints Handling
    • As a sole trader I, Mear Tosney, shall handle all Complaints.
    • Upon receipt of a Complaint, the Complaint shall be considered and a decision made within 10 Business Days whether to:
      • Investigate the Complaint fully if it is considered to be valid, in which case the procedure should resume from Section 5.3; or
      • Dismiss the Complaint if it is considered to be invalid, in which case the Customer shall be informed of the decision in writing within 15 Business Days.
    • Subject to delays arising from circumstances beyond my reasonable control (including, but not limited to, delays in other persons responding to communications), Complaints shall be fully investigated and decided upon and a Recommendation made within 15 Business Days.
    • If additional information or evidence in support of the Complaint is required, the Customer shall be contacted using the Customer’s preferred method of communication, stating clearly what information or evidence is required. Customers should be respectfully reminded that any delay in their response to such a request may delay the resolution of their Complaint, as per Section 5.5 of our Complaints Policy.
    • If a Customer is unable or unwilling to provide information or evidence requested under Section 5.5, reasonable endeavours shall nevertheless be used to resolve the Complaint. If, however, it is not possible to uphold the Complaint in the absence of the requested information or evidence, the Complaint may be closed and the Customer informed of the outcome in accordance with Sections 5.9 to 5.12.
    • The Complaint shall be examined and evaluated, taking full account of all relevant statements, information, evidence and circumstances. Full objectivity and fairness shall be maintained at all times.
    • Subject to the exceptions in Section 5.7.1, during the investigation of the Complaint, all records, information, employees, agents and subcontractors that may be necessary to enable an impartial and thorough investigation shall be made available.
      • Access to the following records and/or information is restricted and shall require the authorisation of Mear Tosney:
        1. Company financial accounts;
        2. Customer payment details;
        3. Any personal or sensitive information belonging to customers, employees, agents or subcontractors.
      • Following examination of the Complaint, a decision shall be reached within the time period set out in Section 5.3 (subject to the exceptions noted therein). Resolution Actions that may be chosen are set out in Section 6.
      • In the event that Mear Tosney does not agree with the decision and/or Recommendation under Section 5.10 he/she shall give reasons for such disagreement and the decision and/or Recommendation shall be reconsidered by the staff member responsible for investigating the Complaint within 10 Business Days. If, following resubmission to Mear Tosney, he/she still does not agree with the Decision and/or Recommendation, Mear Tosney’s preferred decision and/or Recommendation shall be final.
      • Once a decision has been reached under Section 5.8, an Investigation Report and Decision Letter shall be sent to the Customer by first class post or by email, as appropriate. Decision Letters shall set out the decision and the Resolution Action(s).  1 copy of the Investigation Report and decision should be retained in archive storage for a minimum period of 3 years.
      • If a delay either occurs or is considered likely to occur at any stage of this procedure, the Customer should be informed using his or her preferred communication method. The Customer should be informed of the length or likely length of the delay and the reasons therefor.

 

  1. Resolution Actions

When handling Complaints the following Resolution Actions may be selected, as appropriate to the facts and circumstances of a Complaint:

  • Provision of a preferential discount for future purchases;
  • Disciplinary action of the employee, agent or subcontractor;
  • Change to existing processes and procedures to reduce likelihood of repeated occurrence;

 

  1. Implementation of Resolution Actions

Upon the conclusion of a Complaint, the Resolution Action(s) settled upon shall require implementation in a timely manner.  Responsibility for the implementation of Resolution Actions ultimately lies with [me] OR [<<Insert name>>, <<insert position>>, <<insert contact details>>.]

 

  1. Recording of Resolution Actions
    • Upon the conclusion of a Complaint and the implementation of the applicable Resolution Action(s), execution of the resolution actions agreed will be monitored every 30 days for completion.

 

  1. Confidentiality and Data Protection
    • All Complaints, Appeals, evidence and other information gathered, held and processed under this Complaints Handling Procedure shall be treated with the utmost confidence at all times. Such information may be shared with employees, agents and subcontractors of PureGenex only to the extent required to resolve the Complaint in question in accordance with this Complaints Handling Procedure.
    • In the event that the details of a Complaint are to be used for training or quality improvement purposes, in which case they may be shared with other employees of PureGenex beyond the scope of this Complaints Handling Procedure, the relevant Customer’s express permission must first be sought using that Customer’s preferred contact method. Personal details (that is, anything that may be used to identify the Customer) shall be removed from all information so used.  Such permission may be revoked at any time in accordance with the Customer’s right to do so under Section 6.2 of our Customer Complaints Policy.
    • All personal information collected by us (including, but not limited to, Customers’ names and contact details) shall only be collected, used and held in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and our Customers’ rights under that Act, as detailed in our Privacy Policy.

 

  1. Procedure Review and Responsibility
    • Overall responsibility for this Complaints Handling Procedure and the implementation thereof lies with Mear Tosney.
    • This Complaints Handling Procedure shall be reviewed regularly at intervals of not more than 6 months and shall be updated as required.
    • This Complaints Handling Procedure was adopted on 11th April 2018.
    • This Complaints Handling Procedure was last reviewed on 11th April 2018.