Service Complaints Procedure

What is a customer service complaint?

A customer service complaint is when you are unhappy with the level of customer service we have provided to you. This could include:

• The way we handled your call;

• We didn't meet your reasonable adjustment needs;

• We caused unnecessary delays;

• We didn’t keep you updated or respond to you within our timescales.

What isn’t considered a customer service complaint?

There are a few things we can’t handle as customer service complaints. These include complaints about:

• the outcome of our investigation into your complaint about FRS

• our dispute resolution process

• our decision not to investigate your complaint

• the failure of FRS to implement the remedy

• customer service failures that happened more than 6 months ago

How to make a complaint about our customer service

If you're not happy with the customer service you’ve received, the quickest way to resolve it is to contact the person who handled your original dispute. As they know your case, they should be able to resolve the issue for you. We aim to resolve complaints quickly, but please be aware that some issues may take time. If the case handler can’t resolve your complaint, here's what to do:

Stage 1

You can ask for it to be reviewed by their line manager. The line manager will contact you and will work with you to find a solution.

Stage 2

If the line manager hasn't been able to resolve your customer service complaint, they will issue our final response. If you remain unhappy, you can refer your complaint to the Independent Assessor. Our final response will include details on how to do this.

Independent Assessor

The role of the Independent Assessor is to look at how we’ve handled your customer service complaint.

The Independent Assessor will not:

• Review the outcome of our investigation into your original dispute

• Overturn the outcome of our investigation

• Review our decision not to accept a dispute for investigation;

• Consider the number of financial awards recommended in our investigation decisions.