Complaints Policy

We aim to provide a high quality service in all areas, but we recognise that sometimes things can go wrong.

Your views are very important to us and we take all feedback we receive very seriously. We appreciate all your comments as they give us an opportunity to learn and improve.

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with the British Liver Trust, any services or information we provide, and/or the behaviour of any member of staff. We will treat every complaint seriously, with sensitivity, discretion and understanding. We will treat you with courtesy and fairness.

We're committed to ensuring that:

  • You can make comments, criticism or complaints as openly and easily as possible.
  • You can complain by letter or email.
  • Your complaint will be investigated thoroughly.
  • Your complaint will be treated seriously, following an agreed procedure, as part of our commitment to quality services and continuous improvement.
  • Your complaint will receive a full response within the shortest possible time.
  • Your complaint will be recorded, monitored and used to inform and enhance future practice.

We will:

  • Respond in writing within five working days of acknowledging receipt of your complaint.
  • Investigate your complaint and send you a written response within twenty working days of receiving your complaint.

We are a charity with limited resources and we must use these in the best way possible. We reserve the right not to respond in the following circumstances:

  • The complaint does not relate directly to something that the British Liver Trust has done or it relates to something that we are not in a position to comment on.
  • Someone unreasonably pursues a complaint that has already been investigated in line with the British Liver Trust complaints procedures. In this case we may choose not to reply again.
  • A complainant is being abusive, prejudiced or offensive.
  • A complainant is harassing a staff member.
  • A complaint is incoherent or illegible.
  • A complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we will chose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.

We will investigate anonymous complaints and use the information to improve in any way that we can.

How can I complain?

If something goes wrong or you are unhappy with an aspect of our work, your first course of action should be to raise your complaint informally with the person or service concerned. They will often be able to put things right quickly.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the initial investigation into your complaint and you feel the matter has not been resolved, then you can make a more formal complaint. You can make this to the Office Manager. The Office Manager has responsibility for ensuring that complaints about the charity are recorded and handled appropriately. When making your complaint you should state clearly and briefly:

  • What went wrong
  • When and where it happened
  • Who was involved
  • What you want from your complaint
  • Your name, address and contact details (telephone and/or email)

You can send an email (marked 'complaint') to complaints@britishlivertrust.org.uk, or write a letter to:

Office Manager
British Liver Trust
Venta court
20 Jewry Street
Winchester
SO23 8FE

The Office Manager or the person allocated to investigate your complaint will make sure that it is dealt with effectively. You will receive a written acknowledgement within five working days of your complaint being received. We may need to ask you some questions and to seek information from others. An investigation will be carried out and you will be sent a written response within twenty working days of the British Liver Trust receiving your complaint. This response will inform you of any action we will take and of any general action we plan to take to improve our services in the future.

If at any stage we think that the complaint investigation will take longer we will let you know and we will give you written updates every twenty working days. This may be the case if the complaint investigation is complex or it requires the collection of statements from multiple people.

We really hope that our Office Manager is able to resolve your complaint in an honest, open and satisfactory way, however if you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint or the way in which it has been managed, you should send an email (marked 'complaint') to the Director of Finance & Operations at directors@britishlivertrust.org.uk or write a letter to:

The Directors
British Liver Trust
1st Floor Offices
Venta court
20 Jewry Street
Winchester
SO23 8FE

Again you will receive a written acknowledgement from us within five working days of your complaint being received. Your complaint will be investigated and you will receive a final response within twenty working days.

Who else can help?

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, which is the independent regulator of charitable fundraising. The Fundraising Regulator was established following the Etherington review of fundraising self-regulation (2015) to strengthen the system of charity regulation and restore public trust in fundraising.

We follow the Regulator’s Fundraising Code of Practice as well as the Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Fundraising Practice. These codes set the standards for fundraising activity throughout the UK, and we use the Regulator’s badge to show that we are following these practices. More information about the scheme is available on the website: www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk

A fundraising complaint must be made to the British Liver Trust within 12 weeks of the original incident or communication. If you are unhappy with our response after 4 weeks a complaint can be referred to the Regulator; this must be done within 8 weeks.

Fundraising Regulator
2nd floor
CAN Mezzanine Building
49-51 East Road
London N1 6AH

Fundraising Regulator staff are available to assist and advise members of the public, charities and fundraising organisations.

Tel: 0300 999 3407
Email: enquiries@fundraisingregulator.org.uk

The Regulator has an online complaints form, which can be accessed from this page on the website: www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/contact-us/

Our pledge

We treat all comments and complaints as an opportunity to improve. We are happy to acknowledge any mistakes we make, sincerely apologise for them and seek to prevent them from happening again in the future.

Thank you for helping us to provide a better service.