Basketball England Complaints Policy

Updated: June 2024

Basketball England is committed to providing the highest standard of service provision across our organisation for our members. However, we recognise there may be some occasions when we fall short of these standards and our members may wish to submit a complaint.

We take all complaints from our members very seriously and this policy outlines the appropriate steps individuals should take if they wish to submit a complaint and how the complaint will be managed.

Please also refer to our Customer Service Charter HERE, which outlines the service you can expect as a customer and member of Basketball England.

Objectives

Basketball England aims to ensure that:

• The process for making a complaint is clear and straightforward
• Complaints are recognised as dissatisfaction with our service and should be managed in a professional and timely manner
• We respond appropriately and ensure complainants are aware of other avenues of redress if appropriate (for example, our Appeals Policy)
• We learn from complaints and use them to review and improve our services

Complaint definition

This policy defines a complaint as dissatisfaction with the provision of our service by a member of Basketball England, submitted in writing.

A complaint may also be dealt with under this policy where it refers to the provision of a service by an affiliated organisation, such as a League or Club. In such instances, efforts must have been made to resolve the complaint directly with the organisation concerned in accordance with their own policies and procedures prior to referral to Basketball England.

Where a complaint is raised regarding the service provided by an affiliated organisation, Basketball England will impartially review both the complaint and actions of the service provider and provide feedback to assist in a resolution.

Raising a complaint

All complaints must be submitted via the Make a Complaint form HERE****  on Basketball England’s website.

Complaints should be raised within a reasonable time frame. Any complaint relating to a matter that is over 12 months old will not ordinarily be considered.

Complaints should explain the problem as clearly and fully as possible, and include any action already taken to address the complaint. The complaint should also state what the expectations are for a satisfactory outcome.

Anonymous complaints will be recorded and considered, but any action may be limited if a full and fair investigation is not possible.

Any individual seeking to raise a complaint must do so in accordance with the policy and by raising a complaint they agree to:

• Follow and fully comply with the policy
• Co-operate promptly and in good faith with Basketball England
• Provide accurate and complete information
• All communications should be civil, and must refrain from using threatening, abusive, or otherwise unreasonable language or behaviour

Responding to a complaint

Basketball England will acknowledge all complaints within 3 working days and will confirm the timeframe for a full response. Further information or details may be requested.

There are four stages to the complaints process:

• Stage 1 – Informal/Local Level complaints
• Stage 2 – Complaint managed by appropriate manager
• Stage 3 – Complaint managed by Executive Management Team member Stage 4 – Complaint managed by CEO (or appropriate delegate)

Stage 1 represents complaints that can be resolved quickly and informally, which may not be formally recorded. For complaints relating to an affiliated organisation, Stage 1 represents the attempt to resolve the matter at a local level by following and exhausting the affiliated organisation’s own policies and procedures.

The aim of this stage is to ensure early resolution and the opportunity to close the issue at the first point of service delivery.

At this stage, the complaint is raised directly with the member of staff who has been dealing with the matter/providing the service in question.

Communications and responses to a Stage 1 complaint should be in line with BE’s Customer Service Charter.

Where the Complainant is not satisfied with the response, they should progress to Stage 2.

Stage 2 complaints are managed by the relevant manager and apply when it has not been possible to resolve them directly with the staff member or affiliated organisation concerned.

Complaints at stage 2 must be formally raised through BE’s Make a Complaint | Basketball England form, and it should be made clear that it is a Stage 2 complaint. The escalation to Stage 2 must be submitted within 7 days of the Stage 1 outcome, being notified to the Complainant, or within 7 days of the attempt to resolve informally if there has not been an outcome notification.

The appropriate manager will be allocated to respond and investigate the complaint. The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. Ordinarily, an outcome to the complaint will be provided within 28 working days. Where the issue is complex it may take longer to conclude, in these circumstances BE will notify the Complainant of the reasons for any delay and provide an expected timeframe for an outcome.

Where the Complainant is not satisfied with the response, they should progress to Stage 3.

Stage 3 complaints are managed by a member of the Executive Management Team and applies when the Complainant remains dissatisfied after the outcome provided at Stage 2.

Complaints at Stage 3 must be formally raised again through BE’s Make a Complaint | Basketball England form, and it should be made clear that it is a Stage 3 complaint. The escalation to Stage 3 must be submitted within 7 days of the Stage 2 outcome being notified to the Complainant. Complaints submitted outside of the 7-day period will not ordinarily be considered.

The appropriate manager will be allocated to respond and investigate the complaint. The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. Ordinarily, an outcome to the complaint will be provided within 28 working days. Where the issue is complex it may take longer to conclude, in these circumstances BE will notify the Complainant of the reasons for any delay and provide an expected timeframe for an outcome.

Where the Complainant is not satisfied with the response, they should progress to Stage 4.

Stage 4 complaints are the final stage in the Complaints process, and will be managed by the CEO, or delegated to any other individual or organisation as deemed appropriate at the discretion of the CEO. Stage 4 complaints apply when the Complainant remains dissatisfied with the outcome provided at Stage 3.

Complaints at Stage 4 must be formally raised again through BE’s Make a Complaint | Basketball England form, and it should be made clear that it is a Stage 4 complaint. The escalation to Stage 4 must be submitted within 7 days of the Stage 3 outcome being notified to the Complainant. Complaints submitted outside of the 7-day period will not ordinarily be considered.

The CEO, or their delegate, will respond and investigate the complaint. The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. Ordinarily, an outcome to the complaint will be provided within 28 working days. Where the issue is complex it may take longer to conclude, in these circumstances BE will notify the Complainant of the reasons for any delay and provide an expected timeframe for an outcome.

There is no further recourse if a complainant remains dissatisfied after receiving an outcome to a Stage 4 complaint.

Basketball England reserves the right at any stage to forward or refer a complaint to legal representatives or any other appropriate organisation, who may respond on behalf of Basketball England.

Confidentiality

Except in exceptional circumstances, every attempt will be made to ensure that both Basketball England and the Complainant maintain confidentiality.

If exceptional circumstances dictate that confidentiality cannot be maintained, then the Complainant will be advised of the situation.

Unreasonable, persistent and vexatious complaints

The Basketball England Vexatious Complaints and Unacceptable Behaviour Policy HERE will be referred to in any instance where a complaint is deemed to be vexatious.

Recording complaints

All complaints formally submitted to Basketball England will be recorded, detailing the Complainant, nature of the complaint and the outcome.

Monitoring and review

Basketball England is committed to continuous improvement and will review complaints and their outcomes to enable a continual review of processes and procedures with a view to improving our services and helping to inform decisions on any necessary changes.