1. Policy Statement
Radio Taxis
• is committed to providing a good standard of quality services to clients, other agencies and organisations.
• will take seriously any concern or complaint and will investigate it promptly, for resolution as quickly as possible.
• recognises that all services users, agencies and organisations:
• Have the right to raise concerns or complaints about our service.
• Have access to clear information about how to voice complaints and concerns.
• concerns and complaints procedure is open to everyone who receives or requests a service from Radio Taxis and people acting on their behalf.
• will produce a document and webpage outlining this policy and procedure which should be on display and available to anyone who asks for it.
• will deal with complaints in line with Radio Taxis Confidentiality policy.
• will keep a register of all complaints, which will be reviewed regularly by the Chief Executive Officer.
• complaints procedure will be part of the process of monitoring the quality, effectiveness, and non-discriminatory nature of its services.
• all staff, volunteers and Chief Executive Officer are required to read, understand and comply with this policy and its procedures.
2. Introduction
2.1 Radio Taxis strives for high standards in service and welcomes feedback from individuals, users of our services, stakeholders and anyone who works with us, on all aspects of our services. Such feedback is invaluable in helping us evaluate and improve our service.
2.2 The objectives of Radio Taxis complaints policy and procedures are to:
• Ensure everyone knows how to make a complaint and how a complaint will be handled.
• Ensure that’s complaints are dealt with consistently, fairly and sensitively within clear time frames
• Provide individuals with a fair and effective way to complain about our service.
• Ensure that’s complaints are monitored to improve our services.
2.3 Radio Taxis 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 Act
• Investigate the complaint fully, objectively and within the state time fame.
• Notify the complainant of the results of the investigation and any right of appeal.
• Inform the complainant of any action that will be implemented in order to ensure that there is no re-occurrence
• Report on an annual basis, the number of complaints received, the outcomes and any actions taken.
3. Definition of a Complaint
3.1 A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by an individual or service user, whether justifies or not.
3.2 An individual or service user may make a complaint if they feel Radio Taxis has:
• Failed to provide a service or an acceptable standard of service.
• Made a mistake in the way the service was provided.
• Failed to act in a proper way
• Provided an unfair service
3.3 This policy and procedure relates only to complaints received about Radio Taxis and its services.
4. Concern or Complaint
4.1 It is important to establish the difference between concern and a complaint. Taking informal concerns seriously at the earliest stage will reduce the likelihood of their concerns developing into formal complaints.
4.2 If you have any concerns about our service please report this to either a member of staff, manager or via our website, so we can understand your concerns quickly and attempt to put things right.
4.3 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.
5. Complaints Procedure
5.1 Radio Taxis aim to settle the majority of complaints quickly and satisfactory by a member of staff and/or manager on duty, by way of an apology or by an acceptable explanation to the service user.
5.2 There are three stages to the complaints procedure:
• Stage One – The Complaint
• Stage Two – Investigation
• Stage Three – Appeal
6. Stage One – The Complaint
6.1 The complaint can be written or if the complainant prefers they can discuss the complaint with a member of staff who can write it down for them. A complaint form is also available to use which must be completed by either the complainant or a member of staff after the complaint is made Appendix 1.
6.2 Individuals wishing to make a complaint should contact Radio Taxis via:
Telephone: 02380 666 666
Website: www.radiotaxisonline.co.uk/feedback
Email: feedback@radtax.co.uk
Post: Radio Taxis (Southampton) Ltd
158 Millbrook Road East
Freemantle
Southampton
SO15 1JR
6.3 The complaint should include the complainants name, address, telephone number, nature or complaint and where possible details of the service used such as booking time and date. Radio Taxis complaint form can be requested and sent to the complainant by either email, post or collected by the complainant.
6.4 On receipt, each complaint will be allocated a reference number and logged on the complaints register. The complainants should receive acknowledgement within 2 working days of the complaint being received. If the complaint requires more information this should be asked for at the time of sending the acknowledgement.
7. Stage Two – Investigation
7.1 All complaints at this stage should be managed by the complaints team. The complaints team may delegate parts of the investigation to the Fleet Management team where necessary.
7.2 If the complaint involves a Radio Taxis driver the Complaints Team must provide the Fleet Management Team with the complaint form. The Fleet Management team should arrange a meeting with the driver to discuss the details of the complaint. The discussion and any action should be completed on the complaints form and returned to the Complaints Team.
7.3 Complaints should be fully investigated and a outcome provided to the complainant within 2 working days, by the complaints team. The outcome should include any investigation, any recommendations or actions taken, such as reviewing of policies, staff development and training or improvement to Radio Taxis Services. The outcome should not refer to any individual employees, drivers or groups of employees.
7.4 Where the complaint is upheld an apology should be offered.
7.5 Occasionally investigations may take longer, particularly if the complaint is complex or if we require evidence off a third party such as Southampton City Council. Should this be the case the complainant should be informed of the delay and an estimated response time.
7.6 If the complainant remains dissatisfies with the outcome from Stage Two they can appeal within 14 working days of the date of the outcome and progress to Stage Three.
7.7 The complaints register will be updated and any pending complaints flagged so they are followed up.
8. Stage Three – Appeal
8.1 If the complaint cannot be resolved to the complainants satisfaction at stage two, or if the complaints team feels that the complaint is of a very serious nature, or concerns a member of management then it will be referred to the Chief Executive Officer.
8.2 If the complaint is about the Chief Executive Officer then the matter will be referred to the Board of Directors.
8.3 The Chief Executive Officer and/or the Board of Directors will acknowledge receipt within 5 working days, they will review Stage Two investigation and recommend one the following actions within 20 working days (from the date the complainant stated they wanted to take the complaint to Stage 3):
• Uphold the action taken by Radio Taxis in Stage Two
• Make changes to the Stage Two recommendation / actions
8.4 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 (as listed below) should be detailed in the letter.
8.5 If after Radio Taxis has been through the three stages and the complainant is still not satisfies with the result, they should be advised that there is no further right to appeal with Radio Taxis but they could approach any of the following agencies for advice:
• Southampton City, New Forest, Eastleigh Borough Council (where relevant)
• A solicitor
• Citizens Advice Bureau
This should be done within one month of receiving the outcome from the appeal.
9. Anonymous Complaints
9.1 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.
10. Data Protection
10.1 To process a complaint Radio Taxis will hold personal data about the complainant, which the individual provides and which other people give in response to the complaint. Radio Taxis 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 by Radio Taxis. However, it may not be possible to preserve confidentiality in some circumstances, for example, where relevant legislation applied or allegations are made which involve the conduct of third parties.
10.2 Radio Taxis will normally destroy complaints files in a secure manner 2 years after the complaint has been closed.
11. Monitoring
11.1 Complaints are and important tool which, alongside data provided by surveys and user feedback, will allow Radio Taxis 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 Radio Taxis can learn from complaints the following data will be collected:
• Name, Address and Telephone Number
• Name of person dealing with the complaint
• Date of complaint and response
• Nature of complaint
• Action(s) taken / recommendations made in response to the complaint
• Lessons learnt
11.2 Complaints Information will be considered on a regular basis by the Management Team and reported quarterly to Radio Taxi’s Chief Executive Officer. Wherever possible the data will be used to improve and develop the service.