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Complaints policy

Make a complaint

At the National Deaf Children’s Society we always aim to provide a high quality service to all individuals and organisations we work with, but occasionally we do not get it right.

We welcome and value all feedback, and are always striving to improve the service we provide.

While we respect the right of supporters, service users and stakeholders to register their complaint with external organisations, we do request that our internal systems are exhausted before any external channels are used.

The aims of our complaints procedure is to ensure that: 

  • It is simple to contact us – complaints can be received via any medium, including verbally, by telephone, electronically, via video relay service or in writing. 
  • Complaints are acknowledged and investigated as quickly as possible, and within the timeframes outlined below. 
  • You are kept updated and informed about the progress of your complaint. 
  • We listen thoroughly to all feedback to help us to review and improve our services. 
  • We communicate to you about any service improvements made as a result of your complaint.

How can I make a complaint?

If you would like to make a complaint related to our fundraising, please visit our Supporter Care page for more information.

For all other non-fundraising related complaints, please complain directly to the service you are engaging with via their contact details. If you do not have these, or prefer not to go via the service, you can contact us using any of these options:

  • Call us on 020 7490 8656 (9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday).
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Write to us:

Complaints
The National Deaf Children's Society
Castle House, 37 – 45 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4LS

Are you deaf and a sign language user? To find out more about our policies and position statements, use VRS to contact us.

What will happen next?

We will aim to acknowledge complaints within two working days of receiving them electronically, and aim to provide a full response within five working days.

Please note, as many of our staff work remotely, postal complaints are likely to take longer, and we aim to acknowledge these within 10 working days.

If your complaint is of a complicated nature or requires further investigation we would always aim to provide a full response within 25 working days.

We request that you send as much detail in the initial communication so we can look into this as quickly as possible for you.

Where possible it is helpful for complaints to be made as soon as possible after the incident to enable us to investigate fully. Complaints made more than three months after an incident may be hard to resolve satisfactorily, but we will always investigate to the best of our ability.

What if I am still unhappy?

If you are unhappy with the response received please let us know as soon as possible. Your complaint will be referred to a more senior member of staff, who will carry out a review and let you know the outcome within 25 working days of receipt.

Can I take my complaint further?

We will always try to resolve your concerns through our internal escalation procedure, but if you think we haven’t, you can forward your complaint to an external agency.

The primary bodies in the UK are the Charity Commission (England and Wales), The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), while specific fundraising complaints are covered by the Fundraising Regulator. 

Complaints relating to regulated activities which cannot be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction can be raised with OFSTED (email [email protected] or phone 0300 123 4666).

In Scotland, any complaints relating to our services providing care of deaf children or young people can also be raised with Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (also known as the Care Inspectorate) at Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY. Email address: [email protected].

The Charity Commission will only take action for complaints that sit within their terms of reference, which are outlined at on its website.

Both National Deaf Children’s Society and our International arm, Deaf Child Worldwide, are regulated by the Charity Commission

Visit the OSCR’s website for more guidance. 

Download our full Complaints Policy (247kb | PDF)