NYES Digital is committed to providing a high quality, transparent and accessible service to everyone we deal with. In order to do this we need you to tell us when we get things wrong. We want to help resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.

We handle any expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for a response as a complaint. 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, where an explanation or resolution is expected by the customer. Our policy covers complaints about:

• the standard of service you should expect from us
• the behaviour of our staff in delivering that service
• any action, or lack of action, by our staff or others engaged on NYES Digital business

Our complaints policy does not cover:

• comments about our policies or policy decisions
• matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure
• anonymous complaints

Our standards for handling complaints

• We can receive complaints by telephone, letter or email. We treat all complaints seriously
• You can expect to be treated with courtesy, respect and fairness at all times.
• We expect that you will also treat our staff dealing with your complaint with the same courtesy, respect and fairness
• We will treat your complaint in confidence
• We will deal with your service complaint promptly. We will acknowledge receipt of a complaint within 1 working day of receipt, and you can expect to have a full reply within 5 working days.
• In a few cases we will not be able to send a full reply within 5 working days of receipt, for example if your complaint is very complex. If this happens, we will tell you the reason why and let you know when we will be able to reply in full, keeping you fully informed of progress.

Confidentiality

All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018, subject to the need to disclose information as required by statutory authorities, and/or as a result of statutory, legal or parliamentary obligations placed on the Commission.

How to Complain

If you wish to make a complaint, you can do so via out Contact Us – NYES Digital details

Complaints procedure

We will look to resolve your complaint quickly if you can give us as much clarity and detail as possible, including providing any documents and correspondence and stating that you are making a complaint. If we do not have all the details required to deal with the complaint, we may contact you and ask you for further information.

Stage 1

This is the first opportunity for us to resolve your dissatisfaction. We expect the majority of complaints to be resolved at this stage.

• On receipt of your telephone complaint, we will aim to resolve your complaint immediately. However, if this is not possible due to the nature of the complaint we will look to resolve your complaint within 5 working days
• On receipt of a written complaint, we will acknowledge your complaints within  1 working day of receipt and then aim to resolve your complaint within 5 working days

Stage 2

If you are dissatisfied with the response at stage 1, you may request a review. This will be carried out by the Commercial Director and the relevant Head of Service. Your request together with all subsequent correspondence relating to it should be sent to nyes@northyorks.gov.uk who will forward your request to the Commercial Director to be reviewed.

You will receive a complaint acknowledgement within 1 working day and a response to the complaint within 10 working days

Extending time limits

We aim to complete our investigation into all complaints received about our service within the timescales set out above. However, in a limited number of cases – for example, if a complaint is very complex or requires further breakdown, it may be necessary to extend the time limit to ensure we have all the information necessary to deal with it. If this is the case, we will keep you informed of progress with the investigation, the reasons for the delay, and inform you of next steps.

Remedies

When we get things wrong we will act to:

• accept responsibility and apologise
• explain what went wrong and why, and
• put things right by making any changes required
• learn lessons from mistakes and change policies and practices where proportionate and sensible to do so

The action we take to put matters right in response to a complaint can include any combination of the remedies set out in the list below. The general principle we follow  is that complainants should, so far as possible, be put in the position they would have been in, had things not gone wrong.

The remedy applied needs to be proportionate and appropriate to the failure in service, and take into account what redress people seek when they complain. An apology is generally the most appropriate action, but other action may also be necessary in some circumstances.

List of remedies

• A full apology, explaining what happened and/or what went wrong. ( an apology is not an acceptance of liability under Section 2 of the Compensation Act 2006)
• Remedial action, which may include reviewing or changing a decision on the service given to an individual complainant
• Provide the service required in first instance (immediately, if appropriate)
• Putting things right (for example a change of procedure to prevent future difficulties of a similar kind, either for the complainant or others)
• Training or supervising staff; or a combination of both