CHI - Complaint procedure

What to do if you want to make a complaint

Our complaints procedure
The Child Helpline International Secretariat in Amsterdam is committed to the network and
working in partnership with stakeholders, affiliates and partners. As a Secretariat, we
recognise however, that we sometimes get things wrong or make mistakes. Or it may be that
something did not go as you expected and you want to let us know. To deal with this we
have developed a complaints procedure.

We will deal with your complaint
We do not look on complaints as unwanted. In fact, they may help us to see where our
services or procedures might be improved. So do let us know where you feel we have made
a mistake or done something which you found unsatisfactory or unacceptable. Even if you do
not think your particular concern amounts to a 'complaint' we would still like to know about it.
We will always treat your complaints with confidentiality.

The complaints process
Step 1: Contacting us
The first step is to talk to a member of Child Helpline International’s staff or your regional
representative. This can be done informally, either directly or by telephone or by email.
Usually, the best staff member to talk to is the person who dealt with the concerned matter.
They will be in the best position to help you quickly and to address your concerns. If the
individual is unavailable, or you would prefer to approach someone else, then ask for their
relevant line manager. You can find a list of all of staff members at this link
http://www.childhelplineinternational.org/en/about/organisation

You may prefer to contact your regional representative. If this is the case, they will follow-up
directly with the Executive Director.

We will try to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. If more information is needed, we
will record your concern and arrange the best way of getting back to you. This will normally
be within five working days. If it should be longer than five working days, we will notify
you in advance and make other arrangements.

Step 2: Taking your complaint further.
Making a formal complaint. If you are still unhappy, the next step is to send your written
complaint to the Executive Director of Child Helpline International;
· Please send a letter or email to Executive Director setting out the details, explaining
what you think went wrong and what you feel would put things right.
· If you are not happy about writing a letter, ask a member of staff to summarise your
complaint. You should review the final summary for approval, and retain a copy for
your records. The written summary will be given to the Executive Director.
Once the Executive Director receives a written complaint, she will arrange for a full
investigation;
· Your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within five working days of receiving
it and the letter will say when you can expect a full response.
· This should normally be within three weeks unless the matter is very complicated,
such as where other organisations need to be contacted. Where this is the case, we
will still let you know what action is being taken and tell you when we expect to
provide you with a full response.

Step 3: The next stage
If you are not satisfied with the Executive Director’s investigation you can take your complaint
to the Child Helpline International’s Supervisory Board. Child Helpline International is a
registered non-profit organisation in the Netherlands and is governed by a Supervisory Board
comprising of A Chair, A Treasurer, A Secretary and five Regional Representatives. All
materials relating to your complaint and to the Executive Director’s investigation will be sent
to the Chair of the Board (contact details will be provided for you). She will let you know
within ten working days that they have received your complaint and tell you when to expect
a full response from them.

If you have any queries about our complaints procedure, please feel free to contact us at any time!


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	What to do if you want to make a complaint Our complaints procedure The Child Helpline International Secretariat in Amsterdam is committed to the network and working in partnership with stakeholders, affiliates and partners. As a Secretariat, we recognise however, that we sometimes get things wrong or make mistakes. Or it may be that something did not go as you expected and you want to let us know. To deal with this we have developed a complaints procedure. We will deal with your complaint We do not look on complaints as unwanted. In fact, they may help us to see where our services or procedures might be improved. So do let us know where you feel we have made a mistake or done something which you found unsatisfactory or unacceptable. Even if you do not think your particular concern amounts to a 'complaint' we would still like to know about it. We will always treat your complaints with confidentiality. The complaints process Step 1: Contacting us The first step is to talk to a member of Child Helpline International’s staff or your regional representative. This can be done informally, either directly or by telephone or by email. Usually, the best staff member to talk to is the person who dealt with the concerned matter. They will be in the best position to help you quickly and to address your concerns. If the individual is unavailable, or you would prefer to approach someone else, then ask for their relevant line manager. You can find a list of all of staff members at this link http://www.childhelplineinternational.org/en/about/organisation You may prefer to contact your regional representative. If this is the case, they will follow-up directly with the Executive Director. We will try to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. If more information is needed, we will record your concern and arrange the best way of getting back to you. This will normally be within five working days. If it should be longer than five working days, we will notify you in advance and make other arrangements. Step 2: Taking your complaint further. Making a formal complaint. If you are still unhappy, the next step is to send your written complaint to the Executive Director of Child Helpline International; · Please send a letter or email to Executive Director setting out the details, explaining what you think went wrong and what you feel would put things right. · If you are not happy about writing a letter, ask a member of staff to summarise your complaint. You should review the final summary for approval, and retain a copy for your records. The written summary will be given to the Executive Director. Once the Executive Director receives a written complaint, she will arrange for a full investigation; · Your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within five working days of receiving it and the letter will say when you can expect a full response. · This should normally be within three weeks unless the matter is very complicated, such as where other organisations need to be contacted. Where this is the case, we will still let you know what action is being taken and tell you when we expect to provide you with a full response. Step 3: The next stage If you are not satisfied with the Executive Director’s investigation you can take your complaint to the Child Helpline International’s Supervisory Board. Child Helpline International is a registered non-profit organisation in the Netherlands and is governed by a Supervisory Board comprising of A Chair, A Treasurer, A Secretary and five Regional Representatives. All materials relating to your complaint and to the Executive Director’s investigation will be sent to the Chair of the Board (contact details will be provided for you). She will let you know within ten working days that they have received your complaint and tell you when to expect a full response from them. If you have any queries about our complaints procedure, please feel free to contact us at any time!
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