UNIQUE TRAINING SOLUTIONS CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

What to do when you are not happy with our service

At Unique Training Solutions we are committed to always providing our customers with an excellent level of service. We do however recognise that there may be times when you are not 100% satisfied with the service that you have received. We want you to tell us when you are not 100% satisfied in our service so that we can put things right as quickly and smoothly as possible. With this in mind, we have developed a Complaints Procedure which explains who you should contact and what to do if you have a complaint about Unique Training Solutions services.

Definition of a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction by an individual, whether justified or not.

An individual may make a complaint if they feel Unique Training Solutions has:

  • Failed to provide a service or an acceptable standard of service or made a mistake in the way the service was provided

  • Failed to act in a proper way

  • Provided an unfair service

How we deal with your complaint

When you contact us, we will normally ask you to give us the following information to deal with your complaint as efficiently as possible:

  • Your company name

  • Your name, contact phone number, e-mail address and postal address

  • Nature of the complaint

You can give this information to us over the phone however we will ask that you follow this up in writing either by letter or by e-mail.

When we have registered your complaint, we will give it an identification number that you may refer to in any further contact with us regarding your complaint and we will provide you with a copy of our complaint’s procedure.

We will make every effort to resolve your complaint when you first contact us, however this is not always possible, and we may have to investigate your complaint further.

Whatever your complaint we will give you our initial response no longer than 5 working days from when you notified us.

How to contact us

If you would like to make a complaint about our service, please call our Contract Management Team on 01727 733999 Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 8am – 4pm with respect to your complaint.

If you would prefer to write to us instead, please address your letter to:

Contract Management Team
Unique Training Solutions Ltd
10 Sandridge Park
Porters Wood
St Alban
Hertfordshire
AL3 6PH

Stage 1 problem resolution – The Complaint

If an issue or complaint arises, a Unique Training contract manager would be the first point of contact.

The issue or complaint would be discussed between the Contract Manager and the customer, and the next stage discussed and agreed along with timescales. This could come to a satisfactory conclusion at this stage, however if further investigation is required then the Contract Manager will confirm this with the customer and by when they will get back to them with further feedback. This discussion would be followed up in writing from the contract manager to the customer.

We would aim to resolve any issue or complaint within 5 working days.
Once the issue or complaint has been concluded and to the satisfaction of the customer, all information will be followed up in writing by the contract manager with confirmation of what was discussed and agreed.

If the issue or complaint is unable to be resolved by the contract manager, the problem would be escalated to our training manager for stage 2.

Stage 2 problem resolution – Investigation

A problem or complaint will be escalated to the Head of Training or Head of Qualifications, should the contract manager be unable to offer an acceptable solution to the customer.

The Head of Training or Head of Qualifications will have additional authority in decision making and therefore will be able to explore further solutions than the contract manager is able to offer.

If a satisfactory conclusion is reached at this stage, this will be followed up in writing by the relevant manager to the customer, however if further investigation is required then the relevant manager will confirm this with the customer and by when they will get back to them with further feedback. This discussion would be followed up in writing from the relevant manager to the customer.

We would aim to resolve any issue of complaints within 5 working days.
Once the issue or complaint has been concluded and to the satisfaction of the customer, all information will be followed up in writing by the training manager with confirmation of what was discussed and agreed.

In the event that the issues or complaint is unable to be resolved by the relevant manager, the problem will be escalated to our Managing Director.

Stage 3 problem resolution – Appeal

An issue or complaint will be escalated to the Managing Director should the Head of Training or Head of Qualifications be able to offer an acceptable solution to the customer. The Managing Director has the overall authority in decision making and therefore will be able to explore further solutions than the management team is able to offer. If a satisfactory conclusion is reached at this stage, this will be followed up in writing by the Managing Director to the customer, however if further investigation is required then the Managing Director will confirm this with the customer and by when they will get back to them with further feedback. This discussion would be followed up in writing from the Managing Director to the customer.

Taking further action

If we have not been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction within 40 working days from when you notified us, we will send you a letter confirming this.

This letter is normally referred to as a “deadlock letter” and confirms that there is nothing more we can do with respect to your complaint.

When you have received the deadlock letter from us, we may be able to provide you with an external point of contact to refer your complaint to such as an awarding body or an external verifier if this is a route appropriate to the complaint.

If your complaint is in relation to apprenticeships and the complaint cannot be resolved through the internal procedure the option to escalate the complaint to the ESFA is available. The ESFA will not normally investigate a complaint until our internal procedure has been exhausted. ESFA complaints team can be contacted by email at complaints.esfa@education.gov.uk or in writing to Customer Service Team, Education and Skills Funding Agency, Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT.

Confidentiality and Safeguarding

All complaints will be treated with due sensitivity and confidentiality. We will work to instil a culture through which learners and employers feel confident to make a complaint where they have any perceived grievance. The Senior Management Team will give due consideration to any aspects of confidentiality and sensitivity associated with any complaint in determining how any investigation will be conducted, with the wellbeing and safeguarding of learners always being paramount. Where the complaint relates in any way to a safeguarding issue, our Designated Safeguarding Officer will be consulted in terms of the most appropriate way to proceed. Where appropriate / necessary, the complainant’s anonymity will be reasonably protected.

Any personal and/or sensitive data which may be requested/obtained in the course of any investigation will be securely stored and processed in strict accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/67. Any data held or processed will only be used for the purpose of dealing with complaints and for monitoring and will be deleted/destroyed once the complaint is resolved. Only staff directly involved with the complaint / investigation / resolution will be given access to such data. Learners and employers may request a copy of our Data Security Policy if they have any questions or reservations about how their data may be handled.

This Policy was last reviewed on 5th January 2022 and will next be reviewed in January 2023. Full details of reviews and updates to this Policy are detailed below.