Addaction's fundraising complaints procedure

1: Introduction

2: Addaction's fundraising promise

- We are committed to high standards
- We are honest and open
- We are clear
- We are respectful
- We are fair and reasonable
- We are accountable

3 - Handling a complaint

4 - Complaints procedure

5 - Key steps for staff dealing with complaints

- 5.1 - Complaints made by phone
- 5.2 - Complaints made by post or email

6 - Reporting to the Fundraising Standards Board

7 - Key Timescales

8 - If a complaint cannot be resolved by Addaction

9 - Contacting Addaction

1 - Introduction

• Addaction is a member of the Fundraising Standards Board (FSB) and, as such, is committed to adhering to the Institute of Fundraising’s Codes of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Standards Board’s Fundraising Promise.
• The Fundraising Promise represents a commitment to the highest standards of good practice, and to ensuring that all fundraising activities are open, legal and fair.

2 -Addaction’s Fundraising Promise

• We are members of the Fundraising Standards Board self-regulatory scheme. The Fundraising Standards Board works to ensure that organisations raising money from the public do so honestly and properly.
  
• As members of the scheme, we follow the Institute of Fundraising’s Codes of Fundraising Practice and comply with the key principles embodied in the Codes and in this Promise.

We Are committed to high standards

• We do all we can to ensure that fundraisers, volunteers and fundraising contractors working with us to raise funds comply with the Codes and with this Promise
  
• We comply with the law including those that apply to data protection, health and safety and the environment

We are honest and open

• We tell the truth and do not exaggerate
  
• We do what we say we are going to do
  
• We answer all reasonable questions about our fundraising activities and costs.

We are clear

• We are clear about who we are, what we do and how your gift is used
  
• Where we have a promotional agreement with a commercial company, we make clear how much of the purchase price we receive
  
• We give a clear explanation of how you can make a gift and amend a regular commitment

We are respectful

• We respect the rights, dignities and privacy of our supporters and beneficiaries
  
• We will not put undue pressure on you to make a gift and if you do not want to give or wish to cease giving, we will respect your decision
  
• If you tell us that you don’t want us to contact you in a particular way we will not do so

We are fair and reasonable

• We take care not to use any images or words that cause unjustifiable distress or offence
• We take care not to cause unreasonable nuisance or disruption

We are accountable

• If you are unhappy with anything we’ve done whilst fundraising, you can contact us to make a complaint
  
• We have a complaints procedure, a copy of which is available on request. If we cannot resolve your complaint; we accept the authority of the Fundraising Standards Board to make a final adjudication.

3 - Handling a complaint

• The FSB will only deal with complaints that are concerned with a breach of the Institute of Fundraising’s Codes of Fundraising Practice, or a breach of the Fundraising Promise, if the complainant has first directed the complaint to Addaction but is not satisfied with the answer received.
  
• The FSB will not deal with complaints about the following:
  - The services a charity provides
  - Administration and staff costs
  - Administration or processing errors
  - Retail issues
  
• All Addaction fundraising staff will be made aware of the Complaints Procedure and of the key steps, and standards to adhere to, when handling complaints.
  
• If a member of the public wishes to make a complaint about Addaction we will offer them a copy of our Complaints Procedure or refer them to our website, where the procedure will be available to download.
  
• All complaints will be entered on a Complaints File, together with details of the outcomes. This will be managed by a designated member of staff, and submitted annually to the FSB. Information will include:
  
• The nature of the complaint together with details of the complainant
  
• Details of the Code or section of the Fundraising Promise it is alleged has been breached
  
• The date on which the complaint was received
  
• Details of all the communications with the complainant in connection with the complaint
  
• Details of the investigation undertaken into the complaint.

4 - Complaints process

• Addaction will always handle complaints with honesty and endeavour to communicate well. If a mistake has been made, we will acknowledge the situation.
  
• Addaction staff will remain calm and objective at all times, sticking resolutely to the facts of the case and gathering the relevant information. We will not be drawn into any debate or arguments.
  
• Following a call from a complainant, Addaction staff will summarise the situation to confirm to the complainant that we have understood the complaint.
  
• Addaction will always aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible.
  
• A designated member of staff will be responsible for seeing the complaint through from start to finish.
  

5 - Key steps for staff dealing with complaints

5.1 Complaints made by phone:

Step 1: Listen to the complainant, keep calm and don’t argue. Show concern where appropriate. Gather the facts using open questions. At the end of the call summarise the call to confirm to the complainant that you’ve understood the situation. If you are knowledgeable about the area of the complaint, then try to resolve the complaint over the phone. If the complainant is satisfied, go to Step 3 (see 5.2). If the complainant is dissatisfied, go to Step 2.

Step 2: Take the complainant’s contact details and acknowledge the complaint in writing within 14 days including a summary of your telephone conversation and confirmation that the complaint will be dealt with within 30 days. Go to Step 3 below.

5.2 Complaints made in writing by post or email:

Step 1: Acknowledge the complaint in writing within 14 days, confirming that you will seek to resolve the complaint within 30 working days (in exceptional circumstances, you may need more than 30 days to gather all the information - for example, if a key member of staff is on annual leave or sick. If this happens, you should contact the complainant in writing with a copy to the FSB outlining the situation). At this stage further contact with the complainant should only be made where you have insufficient details to take the complaint forward. Go to Step 3.

Step 3: Enter the details onto the complaints file using the format provided on the Fundraising Standards Board Resource CD-ROM or website. This can be done electronically or by using hard copy files. If the complainant is satisfied, this is the end of the process. If the complainant is dissatisfied, go to Step 4.

Step 4: Establish the area of our operation the complaint involves. Having first consulted with relevant managers, make contact with the appropriate person and gather any relevant information regarding the materials and/or circumstances of the case.

Step 5: If a third party is involved (for example a supplier), you should also speak to them to gather any information about the circumstances of the complaint. Take care to record all the important points and file these with the case.

Step 6: Having gathered all the relevant information, you should seek a meeting with the Head of Department (or relevant person with authority) and the line manager for the area concerned. Include suppliers, if they have been implicated, at this meeting.

Step 7: The assessment meeting should set out the nature of the complaint and determine what action needs to be taken. If the complaint is about fundraising then you should make a note on whether it is about an alleged breach of the Institute of Fundraising’s Codes of Fundraising Practice and/or the Fundraising Standards Board Fundraising Promise. The FSB will need this information if the complaint is referred to them. The outcome of the meeting will typically produce one of two options:

• The complaint is justified. You should write to the complainant to apologise and let them know that the complaint has been used to improve on your future fundraising activities. You should take action to prevent any recurrence of the problem.

• The complaint is not justified. You should write to the complainant to explain that you take complaints very seriously, but in this case you will not be changing your fundraising practices and give a reason for your position.

Step 8: When writing to the complainant, you should make it clear that if they are not happy with your response, they should contact the Fundraising Standards Board within 2 months of receiving your response.

Step 9: Make sure that all correspondence is on file and that this can be made available to the Fundraising Standards Board if the complaint is pursued further.

6 - Reporting to the Fundraising Standards Board

6.1 A record of the number and nature of all the complaints we receive about our fundraising activity will be made in order to file our annual return to the Fundraising Standards Board (a template for the annual return is available on the FSB member’s resource CD-ROM).

7 - Key Timescales

• 14 days to acknowledge a complaint
• 30 days to advise the complainant of the outcome of the investigation
• 2 months is the time period which the complainant has to refer the complaint to the FSB

8 - If a complaint cannot be resolved by Addaction

8.1 Provided no more than 2 months has elapsed, the complainant can refer the complaint to the FSB. Full details of their Complaints Process at this stage are available on their website which can be found at www.fsboard.org.uk

9 - Contacting Addaction

Addaction takes complaints seriously and aims to respond promptly to any concerns raised by members of the public about our fundraising.

Your support is very important to us. If you feel you have been asked for a donation in an inappropriate way, please click on the link below for details of how you can expect your concerns to be addressed.

When you have read through the procedure above, please email Andy Airey, Direct Marketing Officer, at a.airey@addaction or call him on 020 7017 2662.

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