Policy Statement

Southern Gas Heating Services believes that if a service user wishes to make a complaint or register a concern they should find it easy to do so. It is Southern Gas Heating Services policy to welcome complaints and look upon them as an opportunity to learn, adapt, improve and provide better services. This Policy & Procedure document is intended to ensure that complaints are dealt with properly and that all complaints or comments by our customers are taken seriously.

The Policy & Procedure document is not designed to apportion blame, to consider the possibility of negligence or to provide compensation. It is also not part of Southern Gas Heating Services disciplinary policy. Complaints made to Southern Gas Heating Services will always be handled with compassion and care.

Southern Gas Heating Services believes that failure to listen to or acknowledge complaints will lead to an aggravation of problems, client dissatisfaction and possible litigation. Southern Gas Heating Services supports the concept that most complaints, if dealt with early, openly and honestly, can be addressed at a local level between just the complainant and Southern Gas Heating Services.

If this fails due to either Southern Gas Heating Services or the complainant being dissatisfied with the result the complaint will be referred to our accreditation bodies such as Gas safe register, the HSE, city and guilds, checkatrade ltd or any other applicable accredited body, and legal advice will be taken as per necessary.

1. Service users, customers are aware of how to complain and that the Southern Gas Heating Services provides easy to use opportunities for them to register their complaints. For this reason, all Southern Gas Heating Services customers will be provided with a dedicated email address, info@southerngasservices.co.uk to file a complaint if needed and will be told before and after any work carried out that they can do this.
2. A named person (Director of the company) will be responsible for the administration of this Policy & Procedure.
3. All written complaints are responded to in writing by Southern Gas Heating Services Ltd. All verbal complaints will be responded to in writing, only if complainant requests this.
4. Complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly and sensitively with due regard to the upset and worry that they can cause to all stakeholders, including clients, and any members of staff.

Procedure

Timescales

All complaints are handled within the following time-scales. However, if there are serious issues which need legal advice or the HSE are involved, these timescales could be lengthened but Southern Gas Heating Services will keep the complainant updated on a regular basis (this could be daily or weekly depending on the nature of the complaint)

• Southern Gas Heating Services will acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours of receipt.
• Southern Gas Heating Services will respond within 1-2 working days of a verbal complaint
• Southern Gas Heating Services will respond within 3-5 working days of a written complaint
• Southern Gas Heating Services will aim to resolve any complaints as soon as possible and no complaint should go unresolved beyond 28 days. If it has not been possible for Supporting Care to meet the 28 day target for any reason, the complainant will be advised that they can approach the Gas Safe Register, HSE or Trading standards.

Verbal Complaints

1. All verbal complaints, no matter how seemingly unimportant, should be taken seriously.
2. Any front-line staff who receive a verbal complaint should seek to solve the problem immediately (this includes members of Business Support).
3. If staff cannot solve the complaint immediately they should offer to pass the concern over to their lead engineer (or company CEO) to look at the complaint.
4. The complainant should expect that all interaction with them will be polite, courteous and sympathetic. There is nothing to be gained by staff adopting a defensive or aggressive attitude, especially where the complainant may be verbally aggressive.
5. At all times staff should remain calm and respectful.
6. Staff should not accept blame, make excuses or blame other staff until the matter has been fully investigated.
7. If an Advocate is making the complaint on behalf of the Client it must first be verified that the person has permission to speak for the Client, especially if confidential information is involved. It is very easy to assume that the Advocate has the right or power to act for the Client when they may not. If in doubt it should be assumed that the Client’s explicit permission is needed prior to discussing the complaint with the Advocate. It is Southern Gas Heating Services responsibility to investigate the matter further until it is satisfied in one respect or the other. If there are major concerns in relation to this, Southern Gas Heating Services should seek advice from the Gas Safe Register, HSE or Trading Standards.
8. After talking through the complaint, the member of staff dealing with the complaint should suggest a course of action to resolve it. If this course of action is acceptable then the member of staff should clarify the agreement with the complainant and agree a way in which the results of the complaint will be communicated to the complainant (i.e. through a meeting; a letter; an email or text). If the complainant states that written confirmation is not necessary, it is still the responsibility of the member of staff dealing with the complaint to log the complaint on the electronic systems and to ensure that the Company Management Team are all aware.
9. If the suggested plan of action is not acceptable to the complainant then the member of staff should ask the complainant to put their complaint in writing to Southern Gas Heating Services so that Southern Gas Heating Services can be clear about the nature of the complaint and ensure that all areas are appropriately addressed

Written Complaints

1. When a complaint is received in writing it should be passed on to the named complaints manager who should record it in the complaints book and send an acknowledgement letter within one working days. The complaints manager will be the named person who deals with the complaint through the process.
2. If necessary, further details should be obtained from the complainant. If the complaint is not made by the client but on the client’s behalf, then consent of the client (preferably in writing) must be provided.
3. If the complainant raises potentially serious matters, advice should be sought from a legal advisor to Southern Gas Heating Services. If legal action is taken at this stage, any investigation by Supporting Care under the complaints procedure should cease immediately.

Meetings

1. If a meeting is arranged the complainant should be advised that they might, if they wish, bring a relative or friend or a representative such as an advocate.
2. At the meeting a detailed explanation of the results of the investigation should be given and also an apology if it is deemed appropriate (apologising for what has happened need not be an admission of liability).
3. Such a meeting gives Southern Gas Heating Services the opportunity to show the complainant that the matter has been taken seriously and has been thoroughly investigated.

Follow-up Action by Southern Gas Heating Services

1. The outcomes of the investigation and the meeting should be recorded and appropriate staff informed; any shortcomings in Southern Gas Heating Services procedures should be identified and acted upon.
2. Southern Gas Heating Services will implement any required changes (as a result of learning from the complaint) within 28 days of the complainant being formally informed of the outcome of the complaint

Monitoring

It is the responsibility of the complaints Manager to ensure that Southern Gas Heating Services record the following information on a complaints log: 

• Each complaint received;
• The subject matter and outcome of each complaint;
• Details of the reasons for delay where an investigation took longer than the agreed response period agreed; and
• The date the verbal report/letter of the outcome of the investigation was sent to the complainant.

Complaints Southern Gas Heating Services do not have to investigate 

Southern Gas Heating Services is not required to investigate the following complaints:

• A complaint that was made in person or by telephone and is resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction no later than the next working day after the day the complaint was made: this must be documented clearly on the client’s electronic file and any necessary third party informed.
• ∙ A complaint that has already been investigated and resolved. Ιn these circumstances, the provider will, as soon as is reasonably practicable, notify the complainant in writing of its decision to not investigate the complaint and the reasons why