World Land Trust Complaints Procedure

World Land Trust aims to be a friendly, efficient organisation that communicates openly in a welcoming, responsive manner with its supporters, other members of the public and the media.

Every year we handle thousands of enquiries and requests. We try to ensure that every one of these interactions meets the expectations of the person concerned. However, we recognise that this may not always be the case. We welcome feedback, whether positive or negative, as a way of monitoring our service and improving our standards, and we will do our best to address any issues that are raised, whether they are expressions of concern or formal complaints.

In order that any queries or complaints are dealt with as quickly and fairly as possible, we have a complaints procedure that is open for all to read. The principles that underpin our procedure are as follows:

We will take any complaint seriously. We will do our best to fix problems, correct mistakes and address concerns to your satisfaction.
All complaints will be treated confidentially, and with courtesy and respect.
We will follow our published complaints procedure. We will aim to resolve the complaint within 30 working days, but if this is not possible we will keep you informed about progress: in exceptional circumstances, more than 30 working days may be needed to gather all the information (for example, if a key member of staff is on annual leave or sick), or to exhaust all stages of the complaints procedure.
If your complaint concerns one of our associates or programme partners, we will refer the complaint to the organisation concerned. We will, however, maintain contact with the organisation in relation to the complaint and do our best to ensure that your concerns are addressed.
There may be occasions when we decline to take a complaint forward or cease communication with the complainant; for example:

if the complaint is not related to our operations;
if the complainant is abusive, prejudiced or offensive in their manner, or is considered to be harassing a member of staff;
where a person persists with a complaint after the complaints procedure has been exhausted and no further remedies can be offered.

Complaints Procedure

Step 1:

Misunderstandings or minor errors should, where possible, be sorted out on an informal basis. As a first step we suggest that you contact the member of staff concerned to see if the issue can be resolved. Our staff will do everything they can to put things right.

Step 2:

If you are not happy with the response, or you do not wish to approach the member of staff directly, you may wish to make a formal complaint. This can be by telephone, letter or e-mail. If possible, you should contact the Head of Department affected.

Please be sure to include your contact details, to enable us to contact you in connection with your complaint.

Your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within 7 working days, including a summary of any telephone or email conversation, and confirming the expected timetable for resolving the complaint. During this period, the person handling the complaint will gather the facts and consult the relevant staff; they may also contact you for more details or to discuss the matter.

Details of the complaint will be kept on file, together with all correspondence (whether by letter or email) and records of any telephone conversations.

We will write to you within 30 days of receiving your complaint advising you of our findings, summarising the situation to confirm that we have understood the circumstances, and if the complaint is found to be justified explaining what action we propose to take. The staff concerned will be made fully aware of the case, and if necessary further staff training will be given and procedures revised, as appropriate. If the complaint is not found to be justified, the reasons will be explained.

Step 3:

If you are not happy with the response you receive, or you feel the seriousness of the concern warrants it,you can address your complaint directly to the Chief Executive, who will review all the circumstances and the decision. He will write to you within 30 working days to advise you whether the original decision is upheld or amended, and any alternative action proposed.

Step 4:

If on receipt of the Chief Executive’s decision, you remain dissatisfied, you can within 10 working days ask the Chief Executive to refer the matter to the Board of Trustees. The Chair of Trustees may need to contact you for further details. Having reviewed the case, he/she will write to you within 30 working days advising you of the Trustees’ decision. The Trustees’ decision will be final.

How to contact us

Details of our staff and departments can be found on our “about us” pages

You can write to us at:

World Land Trust
Blyth House
3 Bridge Street
Halesworth
Suffolk
IP19 8AB

tel: +44 (0)1986 874422
email: [email protected]

Other sources of advice and information

The Charity Commission: regulates charities in England and Wales. It will investigate complaints only in cases where there is a risk of significant harm to the charity or its assets; it does not get involved in issues concerning the services the charity provides, employment issues, fundraising methods, internal disputes or policy matters.

Institute of Fundraising (www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk): has a detailed list of bodies involved in the regulation of charitable activity and fundraising in the UK.

ACAS (www.acas.org.uk): a source of information and advice on employment issues.