POLICY STATEMENT
Hounds for Heroes is committed to delivering a high standard of service to anyone who engages with our charity. We encourage free communication between the charity and our stakeholders ensuring all complaints are aired and, where possible, resolved quickly and to the satisfaction of all concerned.

SCOPE
A complaint may be generally defined as an expression of dissatisfaction about actions taken or lack of action. This includes but is not limited to:

· Applicants and Partners with a complaint of any type

· Volunteers with a complaint of any type

· Donors and volunteers who have concerns about fundraising

· Suppliers

· Members of the public

POLICY DETAIL
Issues may be raised by letter, phone or email.

1. Stage One: Dealt with informally at a department level. Most concerns raised can be resolved at this early level in an informal manner. If a concern isn’t dealt with to the complainant’s satisfaction at this stage, then they may wish to progress to Stage Two.

2. Stage Two: If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can submit a formal complaint. At this stage, Hounds for Heroes will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 5 working days and provide a full response within a further 10 working days.

3. Stage Three: If the complainant feels their complaint was not dealt with satisfactorily, they may escalate to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who will respond within 20 working days. Whatever the outcome at this stage, a reply will be provided to the complainant describing the action taken to investigate, the conclusions and any remedial action.

If we are unable to meet the timescales above due to exceptional circumstances, we will ensure all parties are kept up to date and that we explain any reasons for the delay.

4. Stage Four: If a complaint cannot be resolved by CEO the complainant has the right to refer to the Board of Trustees. At this point a timescale for resolution will be communicated to you.

5. Stage Five: If a complaint cannot be resolved with the Board of Trustees, the charity ombusdman is there to help https://forms.charitycommission.co.uk

If your complaint is about our fundraising activities and we are unable to resolve it to your satisfaction, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator, the self-regulator for fundraising in the UK by submitting your complaint through the Fundraising Regulator website: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/more-from-us/resources/complain…

Hounds for Heroes is a member of the Fundraising Regulator and thereby agrees to abide by its decisions. Please note, the Fundraising Regulator can only consider complaints received within two months of the Hounds for Heroes final response to a complaint.

Hounds for Heroes will keep a record of the complaints received, the outcome of their investigations and the reasons for their decisions for a minimum of six years (in line with the UK charity compliance requirements).

Hounds for Heroes will review these complaints at least annually reporting to the Senior Leadership Team and Board of Trustees on the number and nature of complaints received and the outcome of those complaints, including whether they have led to a change in services, policies or procedures to identify any trends or wider learning, consider what lessons can be learnt and how any improvements can be made.

HOW TO SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK
We encourage feedback, you may have an idea of a recommendation for us based on your experience. You can do this via our website, speaking to the staff member you know best or by email to our CEO, Kate Phipps Wiltshire, kpw@houndsforheroes.com