Complaints Procedure
V4 11.06.26
Please click the links in the Table of Contents below to see specific sections of the policy, or you can download a PDF at the bottom of this article.
- Statement
- Where to Communicate your Complaint
- Information to Include in your Complaint
- Timescale for Response
- Escalation
- Closure of Complaint
- Following Up
Statement
At Assent our customers are the heart of our business. We aim to provide the best customer service possible, and to ensure that all our customers feel they have a good relationship with us.
However, we know that even though our intentions are sincere, things don’t always go to plan. When something goes wrong or isn’t up to the standard our customers have come to expect from us, we want to find out exactly what went wrong, what we can do to fix it, and put it right as soon as we can.
Where to communicate your complaint
All complaints and issues should be communicated via our Help Desk:
https://assentuk.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new
All complaint subject matters can be directed to the above method of communication, including:
- Customer Service and General
- Incidents involving staff
- Content issues – Website, printed / physical media
- Personal Data Issues (how we gather, store and use your personal information)
- Technical Issues – trouble logging in (failure of username / password), unable to access service / service downtime / issues on the platform (broken links / buttons /pages / functions)
- Content issues – Website, printed / physical media:
- Personal Data Issues (how we gather, store and use your personal information)
- Product Issues – Digital products
- Third party issues – issues with our contractors or external service providers
Information to include in your complaint
It’s important to get your complaint to the right people in the first instance, so that we can put it right as soon as possible. Please ensure you include the nature of the complaint in the subject line of your communication.
When submitting a complaint regarding an auditor or consultant, please include:
- Consultant/Auditor Name.
- Date of Visit.
- Details of your complaint.
- Supporting items such as documents, reports or email communication.
When submitting a complaint regarding any other member or staff, please include:
- Name of Contact (if known)
- Date & method of communication.
- Details of your complaint.
- Supporting items such as documents, reports or email communication.
When submitting a complaint about any other matter, please include:
- Details of your complaint (E.G. time, date, location, links etc).
- Supporting items such as documents, reports, screenshots, or email communication.
Timescale for response
When you’ve submitted your complaint by email, we’ll send a response to let you know it’s been received. You should receive this response within 24 hours of submitting your complaint. Please bear in mind that there may be a delay if your complaint is submitted outside of our office hours (9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, closed on bank holidays and Festive Break).
You’ll then receive a personal email from one of our team acknowledging your complaint and explaining what happens next. They’ll also give you a guideline for how soon you can expect to hear from them again. You should receive this communication within 48 hours of your complaint being acknowledged.
You’ll be kept up-to-date as your complaint progresses, and at minimum in 10-day intervals we will let you know we’re still working on a resolution.
We aim to resolve all complaints within 30 days, however some complaints will take longer than this. We’ll of course keep you up-to-date with how long we expect it to take to resolve your complaint.
Escalation
If at any point you feel that the team member handling your enquiry is no longer equipped to do so, you may request that the issue be escalated to a more senior representative.
Likewise, if the team member handling your complaint feels at any time that they are not best placed to assist, they may escalate the issue to a more senior representative.
However, we ask that you give the team member assigned to your complaint every opportunity to resolve your issue before requesting escalation.
Closure of Complaint
Once your complaint has been resolved, you will be notified in writing or by phone within 10 days of closure.
Where practicable, this same communication will include a summary of the process, including investigations made, actions taken, and measures that have been implemented to prevent the issue reoccurring.
However, if you feel your complaint has not been adequately resolved or has been improperly handled, please ask to speak to a member of senior management.
Following Up
30 days after the closure of your complaint, one of our team will contact you in writing or by phone to ensure that you are satisfied with the handling of your complaint, and to offer any further assistance you may require.
However, if you feel you’d like to speak to someone prior to this communication, you can contact us directly via the following methods:
Re-open your Help Desk ticket via the most recent email from our support team.
Open a new ticket: https://assentuk.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new