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More information about our complaints procedure

What is a complaint?

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standards of service provided by us or on our behalf.

What can I complain about?

You can complain about things like:

  • failure or refusal to provide a service
  • inadequate quality or standard of service, or an unreasonable delay in providing a service
  • dissatisfaction with one of our policies or its impact on the individual
  • failure to properly apply law, procedure or guidance when delivering services
  • failure to follow the appropriate administrative process
  • conduct, treatment by or attitude of a member of staff or contractor (except where there are arrangements in place for the contractor to handle the complaint themselves)
  • disagreement with a decision, (except where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision or an established appeals process followed through the sector).

Your complaint may involve more than one service or be about someone working on our behalf.

What can’t I complain about?

There are some things we can’t deal with through our complaints handling procedure.

These include:

  • a routine first time request for a service
  • a first-time report of a fault (for example faulty equipment)
  • a request for compensation only
  • issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal – if you decide to take legal action, you should let us know as the complaint cannot be considered under this process
  • disagreement with a decision where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision such as for freedom of information and subject access requests, or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector
  • a request for information under the Data Protection or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts
  • a grievance by a staff member or a grievance relating to employment or staff recruitment
  • a concern raised internally by a member of staff which was not about a service they received, such as whistleblowing concern
  • a concern about a child’s or an adult’s safety
  • an attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision
  • a concern about the actions or service of a different organisation, where we have no involvement in the issue – except where the other organisation is delivering on our behalf

If other procedures or rights of appeal can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.

Who can complain?

Anyone who receives, requests, or is directly affected by our services can make a complaint to us.

This includes the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service (for example, a relative, friend, advocate or adviser).

If you are making a complaint on someone else’s behalf, you will normally need written consent.

Please also read the section Getting help with your complaint.

How do I complain?

You can complain in person at any of our venues, by phone, in writing, or by using our ANGUSalive Feedback Form.  It is easier for us to address complaints if you make them quickly, so please talk to a member of our staff at the service you are complaining about. They can try to resolve the issue.

When complaining, please tell us:

  • your full name and contact details
  • as much as you can about the complaint
  • what has gone wrong, and what outcome you are seeking

How to contact us

  • use our ANGUSalive Feedback Form
  • call our contact centre on 01307 492600
  • write to us at ANGUSalive Head Office, 50-56 West High Street, Forfar, DD8 1BA
  • in person at any of our venues

How long do I have to make a complaint?

Normally, you must make a complaint within six months of:

  • the event you want to complain about or
  • finding out that you have a reason to complain

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit.

If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

What happens when I have complained?

We will always tell you who is dealing with your complaint. Our complaints procedure has two stages.

Stage one: frontline response

We aim to respond to complaints quickly (where possible when you first tell us about the issue).

This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, or immediate action to resolve the problem. We will give you our decision at stage one in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you are not satisfied with the response we give at this stage, we will tell you what you can do next. If you choose to, you can take your complaint to stage two. You must normally ask us to consider your complaint at stage two either.

  • within six months of the event you want to complain about or finding out that you have a reason to complain or
  • within two months of receiving your stage one response if this is later

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a stage two complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

Stage two: Investigation

Stage two deals with two types of complaint: those that have not been resolved at stage one and those that clearly require investigation, and so are handled directly at this stage.

If you do not wish your complaint to be handled at stage one, you can ask us to handle it at stage two instead.

When using stage two:

  • We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days.
  • We will confirm our understanding of the complaint we will investigate and what outcome you are looking for.
  • We will try to resolve your complaint where we can. In some cases, we may suggest using an alternative complaint resolution approach, such as mediation.
  • Where we cannot resolve your complaint, we will give you a full response as soon as possible, normally within 20 working days.
  • If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you. We will tell you our revised time limits and keep you updated on progress.

What if I’m still dissatisfied?

After we have given you our final decision, if you are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at it. There are some complaints that have an alternative route for independent review. We will tell you how to seek independent review when we give you our final response on your complaint.

The SPSO is an independent organisation that investigates complaints. They are not an advocacy or support service (but there are other organisations who can help you with advocacy or support).

You can also ask the SPSO to look at your complaint if:

  • you have gone all the way through ANGUSalive’s complaints handling procedure.
  • it is less than 12 months after you became aware of the matter you want to complain about, and
  • the matter has not been – and is not being – considered in court.

The SPSO will ask you to complete a complaint form and provide a copy of our final response to your complaint.

You can do this online via the SPSO website, or call them on Freephone 0800 377 7330.

You may wish to get independent support or advocacy to help you progress your complaint.

The SPSO’s contact details are:

  • SPSO Bridgeside House 99 McDonald Road Edinburgh EH7 4NS. If you would like to visit in person, you must make an appointment first.
  • freepost address is: FREEPOST SPSO.
  • Online: www.spso.org.uk/contact-us
  • Website: www.spso.org.uk

Getting help to make your complaint.

We understand that you may be unable or reluctant to make a complaint yourself. We accept complaints from the representative of a person who is dissatisfied with our service. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.

You can find out about advocates in your area by contacting the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance Tel: 0131 510 9410. You can find out about advisers in your area through Citizens Advice Scotland, or check for your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equalities duties, we will also ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help you access and use our services.

If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing or want this information in another language or format, such as large font, or Braille, please tell us in person, contact our contact centre on 01307 492600, or email enquiries@angusalive.scot.

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