Complaints Policy

Accessibility

Whyte & Co’s complaint handling policy will be clear and easily accessible from our website (www.whyte.co.uk).

Whyte & Co will provide clear and accessible information on how an individual can make a complaint in any correspondence with a person subject to enforcement including where to locate information about the process (e.g. a link to our website and a telephone number).

A complaint is:

An expression of dissatisfaction, however put, that requires a response. It will be about the negative impact of the standard of service, actions or inaction provided by Whyte & Co, its own staff, or its contractors.

A complainant does not need to use the word ‘complaint’ for it to be treated as one.

What isn’t a complaint:

  • Everyday Conversations: There is a distinction between everyday requests for action to be taken or pointing out that something has gone wrong and the point at which someone is dissatisfied and wishes to complain. Issues, queries or concerns that are raised and dealt with quickly and resolved before the complainant becomes dissatisfied are not complaints.
  • Service requests: A request that Whyte & Co take action, fix a problem, reconsider a decision or provide a service. A service request is a request for action to be taken, it is not a complaint about the action that has been taken or a complaint about the failure to take action. Like everyday conversations these will be raised and resolved quickly before the person affected by enforcement action becomes dissatisfied. e.g. If a person is, on reflection, unhappy with a payment plan that has been agreed and they contact ask us to amend the plan, that is a request for action to be taken. If, having reviewed matters we are unable to amend the plan to the extent that the person wants, that person may then be dissatisfied and submit a complaint.
  • Feedback: is an opinion given, whether requested or not, that does not require a response.
  • Challenging / disputing the validity of the debt: Whyte & Co is obliged to act on its client’s instructions and to assume that we have been instructed correctly. We cannot respond to complaints that the debt isn’t owed or is in the wrong amount. Such complaints must be addressed to our client. We can only suspend action on our client’s instructions.
  • Challenging / disputing the validity of our client’s actions: Whyte & Co is only responsible for the actions that it takes after we are instructed. We cannot respond to complaints that relate to actions taken by our client. Such complaints must be addressed to our client. We can only suspend action on our client’s instructions.

Correspondence may be received that covers both service requests and a complaint. Where possible, one response will be sent to the complainant covering both matters. Decisions about whether to treat the correspondence as a service request or a complaint will be based on:

  • The balance in the correspondence between the service request and the complaint
  • The significance to the individual of the service request and the complaint
  • Whether the individual asks for the correspondence to be treated as a service request or a complaint

Our Approach to Complaints

Whyte & Co welcomes complaints as it regards them as a valuable source of feedback and insight into how Whyte & Co and / or its enforcement agents are performing.

Complaints will be:

  • taken seriously
  • properly investigated
  • dealt with honestly and proportionately
  • resolved at the earliest opportunity
  • used as a tool to improve service going forward
  • complainants will be listened to and treated fairly

Making a complaint will not have a negative impact on the complainant’s interaction with Whyte & Co or its enforcement agents

Support Available to Make a Complaint

Whyte & Co will make complainants aware of the support available to them If they need to help to submit a complaint. Support can be obtained from various sources including:

Whyte & Co will communicate with any third party acting on the complainant’s behalf but will need to be satisfied that they are authorised to deal with the complainant’s affairs. This is likely to mean that we need the complainants written or verbal authorisation to communicate with the third party.

Reasonable Adjustments

Whyte & Co will consider any requests to make reasonable adjustments to the complaints process sympathetically and on a case-by-case basis, taking account of any particular needs, circumstances or vulnerabilities of the complainant. This could include adjustments to:

  • the way complaints are received
  • contact arrangements with the complainant
  • the resolution and investigation process
  • the way the decision is provided

Clear and Accessible Response

Whyte & Co will provide a response to each complaint that is:

  • written in easy-to-understand language appropriate for the complainant
  • where possible, reflects the language used by the complainant to demonstrate we have listened to them and understand their point of view
  • avoid as far as possible using legal jargon
  • where references are made to relevant legislation, explain the relevance of that legislation in a way that is easy to understand.

Culture of continuous improvement

  • Whyte & Co will maintain a record of all complaints and complaint outcomes which can, on request, be analysed and audited
  • The Director of Compliance is responsible for reviewing complaint outcomes including reporting on:
    • complaint numbers, outcomes and themes
    • improvements made as a result of complaints
    • compliance with the improvements identified
  • Whyte & Co share relevant learning with our staff and contractors to ensure that improvements are embedded
  • The Senior Management Team monitors compliance with the improvements that have been identified to ensure that learning from complaints is embedded and reported on

Training

To enable clear and accessible information about the complaints process to be provided, all staff and contractors will be made aware of the complaints process and the role they are expected to play within it.

Any changes to the complaints process will be communicated to staff and contractors, as and when they arise. This will include making staff and contractors aware of:

  • the content of the complaint process
  • any changes to the complaint process
  • where the complaint process can be located, so that this can be shared with the complainant on request
  • their role in the complaint process, including the action they should take if someone is dissatisfied with the service or lack of service they have received
  • the support available to complainants so that they can share this with the complainant where appropriate

Supporting our Staff

Whyte & Co provides support to anyone who works for the firm who is the subject of a complaint so that the person feels able to provide an honest account of their actions in a non-defensive way. This will include:

  • Letting them know a complaint has been made against them
  • Letting them know how the complaint will be considered
  • Letting them know how they can feed into that process if they want to
  • Emphasising that the role of the complaints process is not to apportion blame but to provide a resolution to the complaint and identify any wider learning for the firm

Where it is not clear why the staff member or contractor took the action they did, and / or where the complaint handler has concerns about the conduct of the staff member or contractor, they must be offered the opportunity to:

  • Clarify the action they took
  • Explain why they considered that to be appropriate
  • Where appropriate, reflect on whether they might do anything differently now and the reasons for that.

The Complaints Process

How to Make a Complaint

A complaint may be made via:

  • A phone call to our offices (0345 458 9429). Voicemail is available outside office hours
  • Email (info@whyte.co.uk)
  • Letter (7 White Oak Square, Swanley, BR8 7AG)
  • Live webchat via www.whyte.co.uk
  • To one of our enforcement agents during an enforcement visit

Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge a complaint within 2 working days of receiving it. The acknowledgement will:

  • Set out who will consider and respond to the complaint and their contact details
  • Ask the complainant to confirm whether they have submitted all the evidence they have in support of their complaint
  • Where possible, set out how we intend to manage any reasonable adjustments that have been requested
  • Let the complainant know about any aspects of their concerns we cannot consider and, if known, advise the complainant how to escalate those concerns. If not known, provide the contact details for relevant advice organisations
  • Provide a clear timeframe within which the complainant will receive a response
  • If not clear from the information received, the acknowledgement will ask the complainant how they would like the firm to communicate with them and whether they have any communication requirements

Confirming the Complaint (if necessary)

Whyte & Co will try to confirm the complaint with the complainant where:

  • The complaint is unclear
  • There is not sufficient information within the complaint to determine the event or course of events complained about
  • The investigation of the complaint has identified some poor service on Whyte & Co’s part but the impact of that poor service and / or the outcome sought is not clear.

Informal Stage

In many cases Whyte & Co we will first attempt to resolve a complaint informally within 5 days of acknowledging receipt. However, we may decide that informal resolution is inappropriate where the complaint raises multiple and / or complex issues likely to require longer than 5 days to properly investigate and respond to. In this case we will immediately escalate the complaint to the formal stage.

Whyte & Co will provide a written summary setting out its conclusion to the complainant and / or their representative This will include, as appropriate:

  • the complaint
  • the action that has been agreed to resolve the complaint and a timeline for when that will be completed
  • the explanation provided for the events that led to the complaint
  • the next stage in the complaints process

Formal Stage

If Whyte & Co cannot resolve the complaint informally, we will escalate it to the formal stage and provide our final response within 20 working days of:

  • the date we escalated the complaint to the formal stage OR
  • the date we acknowledged receipt of the formal complaint

In exceptional circumstances a longer period may be required to investigate a complaint appropriately in which case we will let the complainant know as soon as this becomes evident to us, how long we expect to need to conclude our investigation and the reason for the delay. We will provide regular updates on our progress.

Investigation

Undertaken by a senior member of staff who was not involved in the events that led to the complaint. Whyte & Co will conduct a fair and proportionate investigation reviewing all the relevant evidence to find out what happened including:

  • Body worn video footage
  • Any other recorded communications including call recordings, case notes, letters and text messages
  • The views of the person who is the subject of the complaint where it is not clear why they took the action they did and / or the investigation has highlighted concerns about their conduct.

Decision

We will assess honestly and fairly all complaints judging them against the ECB’s standards and complaints guidance, our own policies and any relevant legislation, to identify what should have happened in the circumstances relevant to the complaint.

Where something has gone wrong we will acknowledge this and take action to put matters right. Even if we have not made an error, we will consider whether the application of the ECB’s standards, policies and relevant legislation has resulted in an unfair outcome and whether action could be taken to put that right.

Decisions about what action to take to remedy matters should be based on the impact the mistakes have had on the person affected. Remedies could include:

  • Apologising
  • Providing an explanation for the action that was undertaken or the way the process works
  • Providing a financial remedy for financial loss
  • Providing a financial remedy for non-financial loss (such as removing a fee or a consolatory payment) where appropriate
  • Putting a plan in place for future communication
  • Reconsidering a decision
  • Taking action to move matters forward if there has been a delay
  • Amending records where they contain an error
  • Changing policies, procedures or practices
  • Providing additional training

Notifying the Decision

Unless a reasonable adjustment is in place specifying another form of communication, we will notify the complainant in writing of the outcome of their complaint and provide a clear, honest and evidence-based explanation for our decision.

The decision will reflect the views of the complainant, their individual circumstances and, where appropriate the views of the person who is the subject of the complaint. It will include:

  • The complaint
  • Clarification about any matters that did not fall within the remit of the complaint investigation
  • The action taken to investigate the complaint
  • What happened (with reference to the relevant evidence)
  • What should have happened (with reference to the ECB’s standards, complaints guidance, our own policies and / or the relevant legislation)
  • An explanation of why we feel we acted appropriately where we are satisfied that this is the case
  • If there is a difference between what happened and what should have happened, an open and honest acknowledgement of that
  • Where something has gone wrong, an acknowledgement of the impact of that on the person affected
  • Where something has gone wrong and there has been an impact on the person affected, an explanation of the action we will take to remedy that
  • Where appropriate, the action we are going to take to learn from the complaint and improve our service going forward
  • How to access the next stage of the complaints process including:
    • link to the ECB’s website
    • phone number for the ECB’s complaints team
    • timeframes to put the complaint to the ECB
    • Where appropriate, clarification that putting a complaint to the ECB does not affect the complainant’s right to further pursue their complaint to the relevant Ombudsmen once the ECB has completed their consideration of it
    • Where the ECB is not the only second tier complaint handler, details of alternative organisations which the complainant can contact e.g. Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Remedies

Remedies to the complaint will be set out in the decision letter. Remedies such as payments for financial loss and consolatory payments will be issued within 10 working days of Whyte & Co receiving the relevant payment method information.

Where remedies cannot be provided within 10 working days, the decision letter will let the complainant know the timeframe for implementation and, where appropriate, when they will be next updated on matters.

Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) Stage

If you are not satisfied with Whyte & Co’s final response or we fail to provide a final response within 20 days a complaint may be escalated to the ECB.