Complaints Procedure
We would rather hear from you than have you put up with something that has gone wrong. This page tells you how to complain about our service, what we will do about it, and how long it should take.
1. What you can complain about
Anything about how we have handled your mediation — the conduct of the mediation, the way we have communicated with you, a delay, a fee, how your information has been handled, or the way our systems have behaved.
What you cannot use this procedure for is the outcome. We are a neutral facilitator: we do not decide who is right, and whether to settle is always the parties’ own decision. A complaint that the other side would not offer enough is not something we are able to put right.
2. Complaining does not pause or prejudice your mediation
Making a complaint will not be held against you. Your mediation carries on as normal, your position is not affected, and the other party is not told that you have complained unless your complaint is about something they need to be told about.
3. How to complain
Email [email protected] with “Complaint” in the subject line, or call 0800 193 5435. Please give us your case reference if you have one, what went wrong, and what you would like us to do about it.
You do not have to put it in any particular form, and you do not need a solicitor to complain.
4. What happens next
- We acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days.
- We investigate and give you a full written response within 21 days. If it is going to take longer, we tell you why and when to expect an answer.
- Our response sets out what we found, what we are doing about it, and what to do if you are still unhappy.
- If your complaint is about a particular person here, they do not investigate it themselves.
5. If you are still not satisfied
Ask us to review the decision, and a different person will look at it afresh.
We conduct mediations in accordance with the Civil Mediation Council Code of Practice, and you may raise your concern with the Civil Mediation Council. If your complaint is about how we have handled your personal data and you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
6. What we do with complaints
We keep a record of every complaint and what came of it, and we review them so that the same thing does not keep happening. Records are kept for six years and then deleted.
This procedure is referred to at clause 2.3 of the Mediation Participation Agreement.