Complaints

We publish this information to ensure transparency and accountability in our complaints process. The self-assessment form, completed by the complaints officer and reviewed by our governing body annually, is included in our yearly complaints performance and service improvement report. The Complaints Annual Report, the Complaints Policy, the self-assessment and the governing body’s response are made available here to keep you informed.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether eventually deemed to be justified or not. A complaint could include one or more of the following problems:

  • We delay in providing a service to a user
  • We fail or refuse to provide a service to a user
  • We provide a poor quality service to a user or make a mistake
  • We provide an inappropriate service to a user
  • We remove or withdraw a service from a user
  • We make changes to a service without properly informing the user
  • A member of staff’s behaviour causes upset to a user
  • A policy unreasonably disadvantages a user
  • We unfairly discriminate against a user
  • Has made misleading or excessive requests for donations
  • Has been disrespectful or treated them unfairly when seeking donations
  • Is not transparent or open about the relationship it has with a third party, for example, an agency working on its behalf
  • Failed to respect a donor’s wishes, for example, if a donor has asked to be contacted only in a certain way
  • Has not dealt appropriately with a complaint made by a member of the public about fundraising

Our Complaints Policy

Our Complaints Policy includes information on what constituents a complaint, how to make one and our approach to handling complaints.

Complaints Summary (April 2024 – March 2025)

During this period Refuge received a total of 130 complaints:

  • Complaint levels remain low, with less than 0.17% of those accessing our services expressing dissatisfaction
  • We continue to see an increase in complaints each year, with 130 received in 24/25 compared to 109 in 23/24 demonstrating our commitment to embedding a positive complaints culture
  • The most common categories of complaints received relate to the support service, staff conduct, accommodation and facilities

 

Complaints Annual Report (2024 – 2025)

Appendix A: Self-assessment form