A complaint may relate to the following, but is not restricted to this list:
· failure or refusal to provide a service
· inadequate quality or standard of service, or an unreasonable delay in providing a service
· delays in responding to enquiries or requests
· unfairness, bias or prejudice in service delivery
· lack of provision, or the provision of misleading, unsuitable or incorrect advice or information
· a repair that has not been carried out properly or in an agreed timeframe
· dissatisfaction with one of our policies or its impact on the individual
· failure to properly apply law, procedure or guidance when delivering services
· failure to follow the appropriate administrative process conduct, treatment by or attitude of a member of staff or contractor (except where there are arrangements in place for the contractor to handle the complaint themselves) or
· disagreement with a decision.
A complaint is not:
· a routine first-time request for a service
· a request for compensation only
· issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal
· disagreement with a decision where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision (such as for freedom of information and subject access requests), or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector
· a request for information under the Data Protection or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts
· a grievance by a staff member or a grievance relating to employment or staff recruitment
· a concern raised internally by a member of staff (which was not about a service they received, such as a whistleblowing concern)
· a concern about a child or an adult’s safety
· an attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision
· abuse or unsubstantiated allegations about our organisation or staff where such actions would be covered by our Unacceptable Actions Policy (or equivalent); or
· a concern about the actions or service of a different organisation, where we are not involved in the issue (except where the other organisation is delivering services on our behalf).