The purpose of the complaints procedure is to address, and if possible, resolve clients’ dissatisfaction with the nature of the service or their treatment while making use of the service.

The definition of a “complaint” is “any expression of client dissatisfaction, however it is expressed”.

Identifying Complaints:  Complaints may be identified by checking incoming post, client attendance, and telephone and email messages. All expressions of dissatisfaction must be noted on the client’s file and recorded on the Central Register of Complaints. The complaints procedure will then apply. 

Note: If the complainant formally notifies the Advice Centre that they wish to bring a financial claim against the advice centre, the Advice Centre’s professional indemnity insurers should be notified immediately and the insurer’s instructions should be followed rather than this complaints procedure, irrespective of what stage the complaints procedure has reached.  (See ‘Public Liability Insurance/Incorrect Legal Advice’ Policy). 

Debt Advice:  If a complaint concerns Debt Advice, the client must be informed that if the complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction after exhausting NBAC’s Complaints Procedure, they have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS): http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or Tel: 0300 123 9 123. 

Debt Relief Orders: If a complaint concerns work relating to a Debt Relief Order, the client must be informed that if the complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction after exhausting NBAC’s Complaints Procedure, they have the right to refer the complaint and the response to the Secretary of State. 

When a service user indicates that they wish to complain about a service they should, where appropriate depending upon the nature of the complaint, be given an opportunity to discuss the issue with the person about whom they wish to complain.   

The employee will take details of the complaint in writing and seek to address the concerns of the complainant at this stage.  If this is possible, the employee should confirm with the complainant that their complaint has been resolved satisfactorily. 

This must take place within 24 hours of receipt of complaint but can be dealt with immediately if the complaint is received in person or by phone. 

The complaint must be brought to the attention of the relevant supervisor who will record it in the electronic Central Register of Complaints as an independent file.  

If the complaint is resolved at this stage, it should be marked as such by the relevant supervisor in the Central Register of Complaints and saved. The employee should write to the complainant to confirm the complaint has been resolved.  Thereafter no further action need be taken in respect of the complaint.  

If the complaint is not dealt with to the complainant’s satisfaction at Level 1, or if it was not appropriate for the employee involved to speak to the complainant, the complaint will be escalated to Level 2.

At this stage the employee (or person who received the complaint if it was not appropriate for the employee to deal with complainant) will inform the complainant that the complaint will be escalated to their supervisor and that the supervisor will contact the complainant within 24 hours.

The employee will send a copy of the Complaints Procedure to the complainant by post (or other method if chosen by the complainant). Unless it is otherwise impractical, this will be done by the end of the working day on which it was established that the complaint could not be resolved at the level 1 stage or the compliant was received and escalated to Level 2 directly. They will also inform their supervisor/line manager or another manager (if their supervisor/line manager is unavailable) of the complaint and pass them the complaint file.

Within 24 hours of receiving the complaint from the employee, the supervisor/line manager or other manager will update the central record of complaints and contact the complainant to confirm they have received the complaint and to take further details. The supervisor/line manager will then inform the complainant that they will investigate the complaint and return to them within 7 days. The supervisor/line manager will update the central record of complaints.

If at the expiry of 7 days, the supervisor/line manager has not been able to conclude the investigation into the complaint, the supervisor/line manager will contact the complainant and explain what has been done to date and the timescale for completion of the investigation.

Once the investigation is complete the supervisor/line manager will contact the complainant to discuss the outcome. This can be by phone or face-to-face. The supervisor/line manager will confirm the outcome of the investigation in writing.

If the complaint has been resolved this should be confirmed in writing to the complainant and the supervisor/line manager will update the central record of complaints accordingly. A copy of the response would be placed on the complaint’s file and the supervisor/line manager would sign off the complaint as resolved, then be retained on employee’s supervision file.

If the complaint has not been resolved, the supervisor/line manager will inform the complainant that the complaint will be escalated to the Director and that the Director will return to the complainant within 5 working days to acknowledge receipt of the complaint (unless the supervisor/line manager knows the Director is not available within this timescale and so will inform the complainant of the first available date that the Director will contact them). The supervisor/line manager will update the central record of complaints and pass the complaint file to the Director.

If the Complaint is not dealt with to the complainant’s satisfaction, then it is escalated to Level 3.

The Director will contact the complainant within 5 days of receipt of the complaint file from the supervisor/line manager to acknowledge that they have received it and that they will investigate it further.

As part of this, the Director will offer a meeting in person or by phone with the complainant at the earliest mutually convenient opportunity but within 21 days of the Director receiving the complaint. A timescale for the completion of the investigation and response from the Director should be agreed at the meeting with a final response from the Director to be provided to the complainant not more than 14 days after the date of the meeting.

The Director will update the central record of complaints to indicate the meeting and investigation has been arranged and again after the completion of the investigation.

At the end of the investigation, the Director will prepare a formal written response to the complainant. If the complaint is resolved this should be confirmed in writing to the complainant and the Director will update the central record of complaints accordingly. A copy of the response would be placed on the complaint file and the Director would sign off the complaint as resolved, then be retained on employee’s supervision file.

If the complaint is not resolved, the Director will inform the complainant that it will be escalated to the Trustee Board at Level 4 within 24 hours. The Director will update the central record of complaints and pass the complaint file to the Board of Trustees.

Note: If a complaint is about a supervisor/line manager, the complaint is escalated to Level 3 directly. If the complaint is about the Director, it is escalated to Level 4 directly and this is noted on the central records of complaints.

The Trustee Board is responsible for hearing complaints made against NBAC which have not been resolved through Levels 1 to 3 inclusive. A complaint need not to be dealt with by the full Board of Trustees but can be dealt with by no less than 3 Trustees, 1 of whom must be the Chair of Trustees.  

The Board should meet within 14 days of receiving the complaint from the Director after their meeting with the complainant to discuss the complaint and shall make any necessary arrangements to talk to staff involved, examine relevant documents and to speak to the complainant if they wish to meet the Board. The Board should arrange to have the central record of complaints updated at this stage. 

Following this review, the Chair will write to the complainant outlining the nature of the complaint and the findings of the Board, an explanation as to how this decision was reached and whether the complaint is upheld (even in part) or not.  The Board’s decision is final, and the complainant has no right of appeal within the organisation however they have the right to complain to the FOS as discussed above.  

The Director will provide a monthly summary report of any Level 1-3 complaints to the Trustee Board.

For complaints concerning FCA regulated activities (i.e. debt advice), in accordance with DISP 1.6.2, in all circumstances the Advice Centre must, by the end of eight weeks after receipt of the complaint, send the complaint a final response being a written response from the organisation which:

1. accepts the complaint and, where appropriate, offers redress or remedial action; or 

2. offers redress or remedial action without accepting the complaint; or 

3. rejects the complaint and gives reasons for doing so; 

and which: 

1. encloses a copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s standard explanatory leaflet; 

2. provides the website address of the Financial Ombudsman Service; 

3. informs the complainant that if he remains dissatisfied with the respondent’s response, he may now refer his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service; and 

4. indicates whether or not the respondent consents to waive the relevant time limits in DISP 2.8.2 R (Was the complaint referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service in time?) by including the appropriate wording set out in DISP 1 Annex 3R; 

or a written response which: 

1. explains why it is not in a position to make a final response and indicates when it expects to be able to provide one; 

2. informs the complainant that he may now refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service; 

3.  indicates whether or not the respondent consents to waive the relevant time limits in DISP 2.8.2 R (Was the complaint referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service in time?) if it becomes apparent that the complaint has been made or is referred outside those time limits; 

4. encloses a copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service standard explanatory leaflet; and 

5. provides the website address of the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

For complaints concerning a Debt Relief Order, the Advice Centre must, by the end of eight weeks after receipt of the complaint, send the complaint a final response being a written response from the organisation which: 

1. accepts the complaint and, where appropriate, offers redress or remedial action; or 

2. offers redress or remedial action without accepting the complaint; or 

3. rejects the complaint and gives reasons for doing so; 

4. and which: Informs the complainant that if they remain dissatisfied with the respondent’s response, they may refer their complaint to the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) in its capacity as a Competent Authority, online or in writing to: IMA, Independent Monitoring Authority, 3rd Floor Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea,  SA1 3SNS. 

Informs the complainant that if of their right to escalate their complaint to the Secretary of State. 

Once the complainant has exhausted the internal complaints procedure to Level 4 then they have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS): http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or Tel: 0300 123 9 123.

If a complaint is escalated to the FOS (debt cases), NBAC will inform the Project Manager at Citizens Advice within 5 working days of becoming aware that the complaint has been received by FOS.

Complaints regarding the actions or behaviours of an Approved Intermediary in its capacity under the Debt Relief Order scheme may be made to the Secretary of State.

If the Director’s or Trustee Board’s decision is such that the complaint is upheld (even in part), redress will be offered to the complainant. 

In deciding the level of redress, the Director or Trustee Board must make their own determination given the facts of each case and the level of dissatisfaction, loss or inconvenience incurred by the complainant. 

Options include: 

1. An apology, written/or verbal from the Advice Centre’s representatives. 

2. An agreement to consider developing and/or improving policies or procedures where these appear to be at fault. 

3. Agreement to undertake specific work on behalf of the user. 

Financial compensation should not normally be considered as a method of redress and in any case should only be considered where the user is known to have incurred financial loss and only in respect of small financial loss where the fault of NBAC is indisputable, e.g. replacement of original documents lost/destroyed while in the possession of NBAC.  Before any undertaking to pay financial compensation is given, such a recommendation must be considered by a full Trustee Board at its next meeting. 

The Advice Centre will report the details of complaints received from client with debt case open at all levels to the Citizens Advice Project Manager on a monthly basis including progress of open complaints and provide further information if required.

The Advice Centre will report any complaints received from a client about a Debt Relief Order to IMA on a quarterly basis.

Where a member of staff is found to have breached their terms and conditions of employment and this contributed to the matter giving rise to a complaint, the Trustee Board may invoke the Disciplinary procedure.

If the Complaints Subcommittee decides a breach has occurred, the matter will be put before the full Trustee Board for consideration.

This will be treated as a separate matter from the complaint because the objectives of the disciplinary procedure are different to that of the Complaints Procedure.

Disciplining any worker can therefore never constitute redress in respect of an upheld complaint.

The Central Record of Complaints held by NBAC will be reviewed annually by the Director and trends or patterns will be noted and any appropriate action taken (e.g. procedural change / staff training).

Any complaints that have been raised must, where required, be reported to the appropriate governing body, including but not limited to the FCA for debt complaints and ICO for data breaches. Depending on the severity of the issue and/or complaint, this reporting may be at the time of the complaint or on an annual report.