Complaints Policy and Procedures

Updated: October 20, 2021 10:23 am

General Statement

SubscribeStar, as a service provider:

• is committed to providing the highest standard of quality services to service's Users;
• will take seriously any concern or complaint and will look into it promptly, for resolution as quickly as possible;
• recognizes that all service's Users:
  • have the right to raise concerns or complaints about our services;
  • have the right to access clear information on how to voice complaints and concerns.
• concerns and complaints procedure is open to everyone who receives or requests a service from SubscribeStar and people acting on their behalf;
• will deal with complaints in line with SubscribeStar's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and other policies;
• will keep a register of all complaints, which will be reviewed regularly by the Board of Trustees;
• the complaints procedure will be part of the process of monitoring the quality, effectiveness, and non-discriminatory nature of its services. 

The objectives of SubscribeStar complaints policy and procedures are to:

• Ensure everyone knows how to make a complaint and how a complaint will be handled;
• Ensure that complaints are dealt with consistently, fairly, and sensitively within clear time frames;
• Provide individuals with a fair and effective way to complain about our work;
• Ensure that complaints are monitored to improve our services.

SubscribeStar will ensure that we:

• Listen carefully to complaints and treat complaints as confidential, where possible;
• Record, store and manage all complaints accurately and in accordance with the data protection guidelines;
• Investigate the complaint fully, objectively, and within the stated time frame;
• Notify the complainant of the results of the investigation and any right of appeal;
• If possible, inform the complainant of any action that will be implemented in order to ensure that there is no re-occurrence;
• Report on a monthly basis to the concerned third parties the number of complaints received the outcomes and any actions taken. 

Definition of a complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by an individual, whether justified or not.

Any User may make a complaint if they feel SubscribeStar has:

• Failed to provide a service or an acceptable standard of service or made a mistake in the way the service was provided;
• Failed to act in a proper way;
• Provided an unfair service.

This policy and procedure relate only to complaints received about SubscribeStar and its services. 

Concern or Complaint

It is important to establish the difference between a concern and a complaint. Taking informal concerns seriously at the earliest stage will reduce the likelihood of their developing into formal complaints.

If you have any concerns about our work please communicate via support [at] subscribestar [dot] com as soon as possible, so we can quickly understand your concerns and try to put things right.

If you are not happy with the response to your concern and/or you want to make a formal complaint please follow the procedure below. 

Complaints Procedure

SubscribeStar aims to settle all complaints quickly and satisfactorily to all parties involved. The complaint may be resolved quickly by way of an apology or by an acceptable explanation, exchanged between the Star and the Subscribers involved in the complaint.

There are three stages to the complaint’s procedure:

• Stage One – Complaint
• Stage Two – Investigation
• Stage Three – Appeal 

Stage One: Complaint

Individuals wishing to make a complaint should contact us by writing to support [at] subscribestar [dot] com.

The complaint should include the complaining person or entity's name and contact information, the nature and date of the complaint, and how they want to see it resolved.

On receipt, each complaint will be allocated a reference number and logged on the complaints register. 

Complainants must receive an acknowledgment within 3 working days of receipt of a complaint. 

Stage Two: Investigation

All complaints at this stage should be dealt with by our dedicated staff members. If they need to communicate with the complainant, they will do so within seven (7) working days of receiving the written complaint.

Complaints will be fully investigated, and a written response provided to the complainant within ten (10) working days by the investigator.

The complainant will receive written confirmation of the outcome of any investigation, any recommendations/remedies made, such as reviewing of policies, staff development, and training or appropriate improvement to our services.

Where the complaint has been upheld an apology should be offered.

Occasionally investigations may take longer, particularly if the complaint is complex.

If an individual remains dissatisfied with the outcome from Stage Two they can appeal within fourteen (14) working days of the date of the outcome and progress to Stage Three.

The complaints register will be updated, and any pending complaints flagged so they are followed up. 

Stage Three: Appeal

If the complaint cannot be resolved to the complainant's satisfaction at Stage Two, or if the handling staff member feels that the complaint is of a very serious nature, or concerns a service principal, then it will be referred to the Chief Executive.

If the complaint is about the Chief Executive then the matter will be discussed with two Trustees.

The Chief Executive and/or Trustees will acknowledge receipt within three (3) working days, they will review the Stage Two investigation and recommend one of the following actions within ten (19) working days (from the date the complainant stated they wanted to take the complaint to Stage Three):

• Uphold the action taken at Stage Two;
• Make changes to the Stage Two recommendation/actions.

The complainant should be informed in writing of the outcome of Stage Three, the decision reached about this complaint will then be final but other options available to the complainant should be detailed in the letter.

If after SubscribeStar has been through the three stages and the complainant is still not satisfied with the result, they should be advised that there is no further right of appeal with SubscribeStar.

This should be done within one month of receiving the outcome from the appeal. 

Anonymous complaints

Complaints received anonymously will be recorded and considered, but action may be limited if further information is required to ensure a full and fair investigation. 

Data protection

To process a complaint SubscribeStar will hold personal data about the complainant, which the individual provides, and which other people give in response to the complaint. We will hold this data securely and only use it to address the complaint. 

The identity of the person making the complaint will only be known to those who need to consider the complaint and will not be revealed to other people or made public. 

However, it may not be possible to preserve confidentiality in some circumstances, for example, where relevant legislation is applied or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties.

SubscribeStar will normally destroy complaints files in a secure manner six (6) years after the complaint has been closed. 

Monitoring

Complaints are an important tool that, alongside data provided by other surveys, feedbacks, and focus groups, will allow us to learn about the services we provide. They provide a useful source of information about how individuals see our services and how we are serving them. To ensure we can learn from complaints the following data will be collected:

•  Name of the complainer;
• Complainer's contact information;
• Date of complaint; 
• Nature of complaint; 
• Date of response;
• Action(s) taken/recommendations made in response to the complaint. 

Complaints information will be considered on a regular basis by the Management Team and reported annually to the SubscribeStar's Board of Trustees. Wherever possible the data will be used to improve and develop the service.