Open City – Public Complaints Policy and Procedure
Last Reviewed: November 2021
Next Reviewed: November 2022
Introduction
Welcome to Open City Architecture’s (charity number 1072104 and company number 3159878) complaints policy.
Open City Architecture (collectively referred to as "Open City", "we", "us" or "our" in this privacy notice) views complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, as well as a chance to put things right for the person or organisation that has made the complaint where appropriate.
Open City is a predominantly volunteer-run charity which stages free large public events. While all complaints are received and investigated, we are usually unable to communicate the findings of complaint investigations unless in exceptional circumstances.
We will not tolerate any abusive or discriminatory language or behaviour towards any of our staff or volunteers, and may decline to investigate complaints in such circumstances.
Open City’s policy is:
to provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint;
to publicise the existence of our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint;
to make sure everyone at Open City knows what to do if a complaint is received;
to make sure that complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way;
to make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired;
to gather information which helps us to improve what we do.
Complaints to external organisations
Open City often works with external organisations, in particular during its festivals in which numerous individuals and partner organisations around London stage independent events as part of the city-wide annual Open House Festival.
Where the complaint relates to an incident at an external event or venue it is best directed to the organisation responsible for staging that external event. Examples include:
Inaccurate information about an external event listed through the Open House Festival website.
A negative interaction with a non-Open City member of staff or volunteer at an event staged as part of the Open House Festival.
An unreasonably last-minute cancellation of an external event that was advertised as part of the Open House Festival.
Where a complaint relates to an external organisation such as the examples above, you should get in touch with that organisation via its complaints procedure. Where a complaint relates directly to Open City, please follow the procedure outlined below.
Definition of a complaint
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any aspect of Open City – administration, a staff member, process or service – resulting from Open City’s failure to meet the individual’s expectations.
This policy does not cover complaints from staff, who should refer to Open City’s Grievance Procedures.
Confidentiality
All complaint information will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to know and following any relevant data protection requirements.
Complaints Handling Procedure
We want to make it easy for you to contact us and to provide feedback or make a complaint. These are the ways you can get in touch with us:
You can write to us via the Open City website www.open-city.org.uk/complaints
You can write to us at our office C1, Design District, 1a Cripps Yard, London SE10 0BQ
If you provide us with a telephone number and email address we may contact you to discuss the matter further and to officially record all necessary details if appropriate.
If the issue is more complex and an investigation is required, we will do the following:
The person who receives a complaint will:
Record full details of your complaint.
Record the complaint in our Complaints Register.
Note down the relationship of the complainant to Open City, eg, donor, sponsor, beneficiary, service user.
Take all necessary steps to investigate the matter and take necessary actions to achieve a resolution where possible and appropriate.
Where needed, issues may be escalated to the chief executive or Board of Trustees depending on the complexity or seriousness of the matters.
Resolving complaints
Our commitment to you is to address each complaint in a sensitive, fair, transparent, equitable, professional and unbiased manner through the complaints handling process.
Not all complaints can be resolved, especially those relating to a one-off negative experience that has taken place in the past. However, where a complaint relates to an ongoing situation, or where action can be taken to avoid a negative experience in the future it may be possible to resolve a complaint.
We will operate at all times from the premise that any person is entitled to express their views on our services and that those views should be taken seriously where this is warranted. We will not, however, tolerate any abusive or discriminatory language or behaviour towards any of our staff or volunteers, and may decline to investigate a complaint further in such circumstances.
Stage 1
In many cases a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. Complaints made through the Open City website or by letter will be considered and actioned appropriately within 30 days. Whether or not a complaint can be resolved quickly, it will be logged and the complaint information will be passed to the Chief Executive.
If the complaint relates to a specific member of staff, they will be informed and given a fair opportunity to respond.
Receipt of complaints should be acknowledged within five working days by email. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint. A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached.
In the case of serious complainants which Open City deems require an investigation, the complainant will be informed and may be contacted to request further information.
Stage 2
Where a complainant feels that the complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved through the Stage 1 within 30 days, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Board level using the form below.
At this stage, the complaint will be passed to the Board of Trustees. The request for Board level review should be acknowledged within 30 days of receiving it. The acknowledgement should say who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply.
The Board of Trustees may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage 1. The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage 1 should be kept informed of what is happening.
If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond. Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within a month. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given. Whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint. The decision taken at this stage is final, unless the Board decides it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution.
External Stage
As Open City is a registered charity, complainants can complain to the Charity Commission Regulator at any stage. Information about the kind of complaints the Charity Commission can involve itself in can be found on their website at: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity.
For any fundraising complaints please contact the Fundraising Regulator: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/complaints
Review of this Policy
This policy will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees every year.
Variation of the Complaints Procedure
The Board may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about a Chair or trustee should not also have the Chair and/or trustee involved.