It’s important to us that the BBRS delivers good customer service, ensuring that we uphold our principles of Independent, Fair, Timely, Transparent and Accessible dispute resolution. If you feel you need to complain about the service you have received, we will take this seriously, investigate, and learn from any mistakes that have been made. If we agree something has gone wrong, we will endeavour to put things right. This page details how you can make a service complaint, and what you should expect from us.
What can I raise a service complaint about?
We are keen to hear when our processes have not met either your expectations or our own standards. There are some circumstances where a service complaint cannot be progressed. We will not accept a service complaint about the following:
- The outcome or decision of a case, or judgement used within a case. The adjudication appeal process is the correct approach for this type of concern. Details on how to appeal are available from the case team and will be included at different stages of the process.
- A policy of the BBRS. The policy the BBRS operates to is a product of extensive collaboration often involving our stakeholder groups. Feedback on our policy will be considered in this context.
- We may not be able to investigate a service complaint if it is received more than 45 days after the last outcome was issued on the case.
How do I raise a service complaint?
In the first instance, we encourage you to raise your concerns with the BBRS team that you are in contact with – be that the contact centre or case teams. This is often the easiest and quickest way of resolving any concern you have. The team you are in contact with will listen to what you have to say and will try to address your concerns.
If your concerns aren’t addressed, you can raise a service complaint by emailing us at hello@thebbrs.org. Your email will be handled by independent, internal personnel of the BBRS who have had no involvement in the handling of your case.
If we no longer hold identification and verification documents (as per our data retention policy) you may be required to resubmit documentation before we can discuss the service complaint with you.
Raising a service complaint will not impact the outcome of your case.
You should provide as much detail as you can about your complaint so that we can identify details and investigate properly. We may contact you to clarify your service complaint or seek more information.
If you require any adjustments to make this process accessible, you should let us know and where possible we will seek to accommodate any needs you may have.
How are service complaints managed?
Our principles apply directly to how service complaints are managed. Service complaints are managed by the BBRS’ Customer Directorate. Service complaints are directly received in confidence by the Customer Directorate, who will ensure information is properly protected.
Your service complaint will be acknowledged, and if an investigation is necessary this will be initiated and delivered by an appointed person who is separate to the operations team. Our investigation will seek to identify and address root causes, and we will confirm the result of this investigation to you clearly and directly.
The investigation of a service complaint may cause a minimal delay in the progression of a case. It is possible that parts of the case management process will need to be revisited, or new personnel involved.
Service complaints will be briefed to senior management to ensure service performance is understood, and recommendations are progressed. The non-executive Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee maintain oversight of all service complaint activity.