Our Complaints Procedure
At Sidmouth Voluntary Services we spend our time thinking how to serve those in the Sid Valley community to help everyone live active, social and healthy lives. However, we know that there may be times we disappoint. If things go wrong, we want to hear about it, deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again. We take complaints very seriously and are always very grateful to hear from people who are willing to take the time to help us improve.
Tell us your experience
You can contact us in whichever way is most convenient to you and we will respond to you via the same method unless instructed otherwise.
You can call us on 01395 515063 and arrange to speak to any member of our team, from our Manager, Transport Manager, Secretary, Volunteer Coordinator or Kitchen Manager. Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 1pm. Outside of these hours you can always leave us a message and a contact number, and someone will return your call before midday the next working day.
You can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and this email will go straight to our Manager. You can also choose to directly email the Chair of Trustees at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Or you can write to us at:
Sidmouth Voluntary Services
Twyford House
Coburg Road
Sidmouth
EX10 8NF
Direct your letter to the Member of Staff, Manager or Trustee as required. Please include your name, address and contact telephone number in your email or letter so that we can get back in touch with you easily.
We endeavour to respond fully to all complaints within ten working days. However, you will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within the first 5 days of receipt. Wherever possible we will deal with it more quickly but if we think it will take longer then we will let you know.
In more complex situations where an immediate response is not possible, we will investigate the matter and get back to you as quickly as we can. We will record your complaint and between us we can agree on the best way and time to get back in contact with you. All complaints that cannot be immediately resolved will be discussed with the charity management and Trustees in order to determine how to proceed.
What we will do
We will take immediate action to correct mistakes and address your concerns. Please feel free when contacting us about a complaint to let us know how you think it could be resolved as we want to reach the best possible outcome.
We will always treat you with courtesy and respect, listen to what you say, work with you on a resolution, keep you informed about our progress and provide you a prompt response.
Complaints we can’t reply to
When a complaint is about something that Sidmouth Voluntary Services has no direct connection we may choose to reply to clear our name, but we are not obliged to.
When someone unreasonably pursues a complaint that we have already responded to they will be given escalation points, but we may choose not to reply again. We will always inform you of our decision to do this. For example:
When a complainant is being obviously abusive, prejudiced or offensive in their manner.
When a complainant is harassing a staff member.
When a complaint is incoherent or illegible.
When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we can chose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.
Sidmouth Voluntary Services cannot respond to complaints made anonymously. However, we will investigate the complaint and use the information to improve in any way that we can.
Who else can help?
If, after we have worked together to address your complaint, you still feel that it has not been fully resolved you can raise a complaint with the regulator. The Charity Commission website provides guidance on complaining about a charity including information about the different regulators and details of what they consider a serious issue. It also gives information about serious wrongdoing and how to report it if you are a trustee, employee or volunteer.
www.charity-commission.gov.uk/complain-about-charity
Version 2 of SVS Complaints Policy Published 25th August 2022