Complaints Procedure

Dated 23/05/18

Complaints Handling Code

Pebbletree Limited is committed to providing excellent service and endeavor to deal with any complaint fairly and within a reasonable period of time. This excellent service is provided in line with the ITSPA guidelines which works in conjunction with an independent dispute resolution service, which at present is Ombudsman Services Limited.

Contents

1. About this code
2. How you can make a complaint
3. How to contact us
4. Resolving your complaint
5. How to escalate your complaint
6. If you’re still not happy: deadlock and ADR
7. Ofcom

1. About this code

• Whilst we always strive to provide the best customer service possible, sometimes things go wrong. If there is anything you’re not happy with, please let us know so that we can work with you to put things right and provide a better service in future.
• This complaints code sets out how you can lodge a complaint about any aspect of our service. It tells you how to contact us, what we’ll do and (if we aren’t able to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction) how you can take things further.
• You can request a free paper copy of this complaints code using our customer services contact details set out below. If there is going to be any delay, for example if a particular format of the code is out of stock, we will let you know.

2. How you can make a complaint

• If you’re unhappy with any aspect of our services, the best way to contact us is by phone. If you prefer to contact us in writing you can email or write to us instead, but it may take us a little longer to respond.
• We have explained our internal complaints handling procedure below. This procedure has been designed to ensure that complaints can be resolved fairly and swiftly.
• Unfortunately, we sometimes get complaints which have no merit or have been made simply to harass our staff. We take the safety and well-being of our staff very seriously and consequently neither we nor our Alternative Dispute Resolution provider can deal with this type of complaint. If we can’t deal with your complaint, we will let you know.

3. How to contact us

•   By phone:
  •   03333 443 443
  •   Please note that standard charges will apply to all calls. Check with your network operator for rates.
  •   Our operators work from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday
•   By post:
  •   Pebbletree Limited, Suite 1E North Sands Business Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland SR6 0QA
•   By email:
  •   contact@pebble-tree.co.uk

•   If you contact us in writing, please don’t forget to include your:
  •   Full name;
  •   Account number;
  •   Postal address, email address and [mobile] [or] [landline] telephone number; and
  •   Sufficient details of your complaint to allow us to deal with it, including any steps which have been taken to attempt to resolve the complaint so far.
  • If you contact us in writing, we will aim to respond to you within 4 hours. If we can’t get hold of you by phone, we’ll email you (if you’ve given us your email address), or we’ll write to you.

4. Resolving your complaint

• We’ll make every effort to resolve your complaint straight away. If that’s not possible, we will keep you updated every 2 days on the steps we are taking and when we expect your complaint to be resolved. The steps we take to investigate your complaint will depend on the particular circumstances.
• We endeavor to resolve all complaints within 7 days.

5. How to escalate your complaint

• If you’re not satisfied with our first response to your complaint, you can ask us to escalate the complaint our the Operations Manager on complaints@pebble-tree.co.uk

6. If you’re still not happy: deadlock and ADR

• If we haven’t been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction by following the process set out in the above sections of this Code within 8 weeks or if we reach a ‘deadlock’ situation at any time, you can refer your complaint to Alternative Dispute Resolution.
• Deadlock:
  • A deadlock arises where we have tried to resolve your complaint through our internal complaints procedure and we believe there is nothing more that we can do, but we still can’t reach an agreement with you. In this situation we will send you a deadlock letter, which indicates it would be suitable to refer your complaint to our Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme.
  • You can also request a deadlock letter from us at any time, but we will not provide you with one if:
    • we are still working on a resolution and we genuinely believe we can find a solution within a reasonable time; or
    • your complaint is not suitable for referral to our Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme (for example, if your complaint relates to a commercial decision we’ve made not to provide a service). More information may be found by following the links to our ADR scheme in this Code.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution:
  • You can refer any suitable complaint to our Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme free of charge if your complaint is unresolved within 8 weeks, or if you have received a deadlock letter from us. Our chosen scheme is run by Ombudsman Services: Communications an entirely independent decision maker.
  • We will also send you a written reminder of your right to refer your complaint to our Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, if we haven’t resolved your complaint after 8 weeks.
  • Here are the details of our Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme:
    •   Name: Ombudsman Services: Communications
    •   Website: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/communications.html Contacts:
    •   Phone: 0330 440 1614
    •   Fax: 0330 440 1615
    •   Textphone: 0330 440 1600
    •   Address: Ombudsman Services: Communications, PO Box 730, Warrington, WA4 6WU
    •   Email: osenquiries@os-communications.org

• If your complaint is about an online purchase you can also refer your complaint to our Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, Ombudsman Services: Communications, using the European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform. You can find the platform and more information on how it works here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

7. Ofcom

Ofcom regulates us as part of the communications industry. Ofcom ensures, among other things, that all communications providers have a process for handling complaints. Ofcom doesn’t investigate individual complaints on behalf of consumers or adjudicate, but it can provide guidance on the complaints process we have set out in this Code. You can find more information about Ofcom by clicking here.