It is the policy of Ashe Windows Ltd to provide a high-quality service to everyone we deal with.
In order to do this, we need you to give us any comments about our service, and to tell us when we get things wrong.
We want to help you resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. We treat as a complaint any expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for a response. We listen to your complaints, treat them seriously, and learn from them so that we can continuously improve our service.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not. Our policy covers complaints about:
- the standard of service we provide
- the behaviour of our staff, and
- any action or lack of action by staff affecting an individual or group
Our complaints policy does not cover
- comments about our policies or policy decisions
- dissatisfaction with our policies or decisions about individual cases
- matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure
- anonymous complaints
Our standards for handling complaints
We treat all complaints seriously, whether they are made by telephone, by letter, or by email.
Customers will be treated with courtesy and fairness at all times
We will treat all complaints in confidence within the company
We will deal with customer complaints promptly:
- We will acknowledge receipt of a complaint within one working day (and inform the customer of our Complaint Handling Procedure and any additional procedures)
- We will send you a full reply within eight weeks of receipt
- If we cannot send a full reply within eight weeks of receipt, we will tell you the reason why and let you know when we will be able to reply in full
We will not treat customers less favourably than anyone else because of their:
- sex or marital status: this includes family status, responsibility for dependents, and gender (including gender reassignment, whether proposed, commenced or completed)
- sexual orientation
- colour or race: this includes ethnic or national origin or nationality
- disability
- religious or political beliefs, or trade union affiliation, or
- other unjustifiable factors, for example language difficulties or age
Third party reporting
Complainants may wish to have a third-party act on their behalf.
A third party is any person or organisation acting on behalf of or making enquiries for the complainant.
Representatives may include:
- advice organisations
- professionals such as social workers, community psychiatric nurses or doctors, solicitors, family members or friends
- MP’s and elected members of a local council. Customers’ own MP’s and elected members are assumed to have consent to act and information can be disclosed in response to their enquiries
- Solicitors are legally empowered to act on behalf of the complainant and consent to disclose information is not required.
- Where a third party is helping a complainant with a particular complaint and written authority is held to that effect, if the representative asks to be kept informed of progress on the complaint all possible steps will be taken to ensure that this happens
Confidentiality
All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Statutory Rights
Our complaints policy does not impair your statutory rights.
Vulnerable Customer
We will take account of the needs of vulnerable customers, those with additional needs or special access requirements, when handling a complaint.
When dealing with vulnerable customers we will:
- Give choice and access – complaints can be raised verbally on the phone or in writing via the post or email. A customer can also visit us at our offices to discuss their complaint if they wish;
- Recognise vulnerability – when a complaint is raised, we will make every effort to establish if the customer is vulnerable, and adjust our process accordingly
- Provide advice and support – take extra time to ensure the customer understands what they are applying for and how ECO works. If needs be, offer to talk the plan through with a third party with their permission
How to complain
You can make a complaint in a number of ways either verbally by telephone. Complaints can also be made in writing by email or letter.
If you are a customer of Ashe Windows Ltd our contact details are:
Ashe Windows Ltd.
28 Wynnstay Road
COLWYN BAY
LL29 8NB
Telephone: 01492 233580
Email: enquiries@ashewindows.co.uk
We aim to respond within 1 working days of receiving your complaint and where possible will provide you with a date to remedy any issues raised.
Our aim is to resolve your complaint straightaway, but, if we are unable to do this, we will write to you within 3 working days with the following information:
- Why we have not resolved your complaint;
- The name of the person who is dealing with your complaint; and
- When we will contact you again
We will endeavour to resolve your complaint quickly, but it may take longer to resolve if it is complex.
We will keep you informed of the status of your complaint and what we are doing on a regular basis, but if you need an update, please call us on 01492 233580 and ask to speak to the person handling your complaint.
Complaints Process
There are 4 key stages in our complaint process.
Stage 1
Upon receipt of any customer or third-party complaint via phone, email, social media, letter or verbal site communication, the complaint is to be immediately recorded on form GD F11 – Complaint Form and recorded within GD R06 – Complaints Record.
The complaints form will be kept for a minimum of six years, or the duration of the product’s guarantee – whichever is longer.
Stage 2
Where the complaint cannot be resolved immediately over the phone or on site, a member of the customer care team will then fully investigate the issue and contact the customer to arrange for any appropriate remedial action.
Stage 3
In the event an issue cannot be dealt with by one of our team members, the issue will be escalated to the office manager and if necessary, a company director. This may necessitate a site visit to try to resolve the issue. The meeting is documented, and records are kept on file for quality assurance records.
Stage 4
In the unlikely event that the company senior management are unable to reach a successful resolution within 8 weeks, we will send a letter giving our reasons for the delay and an indication of when we expect to provide a final decision; or we will issue our final decision letter which will explain our final position.
Quality Assurance
Where several complaints about the same issue are received, the quality assurance manager may implement an action plan to investigate and improve on these issues.
Internal Review
Ashe Windows seek to resolve any issues about works completed within 24 hours. Where further investigation is required, any remedial actions must be completed within 7 days of the initial complaint being raised.
All customer complaints are reviewed by senior management on a weekly basis to ensure compliance with the above.
What to do if you are dissatisfied with our response
Ashe Windows aim to resolve all complaints internally within the eight-week timeframe. However, if after receiving our final decision letter, or if eight weeks have passed (this is sometimes referred to as the ‘eight-week rule’), you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Kent County Council Alternative Dispute Resolution service. Their contact details are:
Kent County Council ADR
8 Abbey Wood
Kings Hill
West Malling
ME19 4YT
Email: adr@kent.gov.uk
Website: www.kent.gov.uk/disputeresolution
Phone: 03000 419219