Publicised Contact Details for Complaints:
Written complaints may be sent to Barton Petroleum Ltd at 6-7 Vaux Road, Finedon Road Industrial Estate, Wellingborough or by e-mail at accounts@bartonpetroleum.co.uk
Verbal complaints may be made by phone to the following number Tel:01386579579 or in person to Cotswold Petroleum Ltd.’s staff at their depot and their address can be obtained on the contacts page on the company website www.cotswoldpetroleum.co.uk
Receiving Complaints
Complaints may arrive through channels publicised for that purpose or through any other contact details or opportunities the complainant may have. Complaints received by telephone or in person need to be recorded using customer complaint form Appendix 2.
The person who receives a phone or in person complaint should:
- Write down the facts of the complaint.
- Take the complainant’s name, address, and telephone number.
- Note down the relationship of the complainant to Cotswold Petroleum Ltd (for example: Account number)
- Tell the complainant that we have a complaints procedure.
- Tell the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take.
- Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by post or by email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.
For further guidelines about handling verbal complaints, see Appendix 1 Resolving Complaint.
Stage One
In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate. Whether or not the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be passed to Richard Burton (Managing Director) within one week.
On receiving the complaint, the Depot Manager records it in the reportable occurrences file as a complaint and is logged on the customer’s account (lf an Account customer).
If it has not already been resolved, the Depot Manger informs the Managing Director who may delegate an appropriate person to investigate it and to take appropriate action.
If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a fair opportunity to respond.
Complaints should be acknowledged by the person handling the complaint within a week. The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint and when the person complaining can expect a reply. A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached.
Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks. If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.
Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.
Stage Two
If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, A Customer deadlock letter in CODAS titled (Richard Complaints Deadlock) example Appendix 3 will be sent out explaining the finale consideration of your complaint and if they are unhappy with the outcome they can refer that complaint to the utilitiesADR a division of the retail Ombudsman who is authorised by the Government under the Alternative Dispute Resolution service for consumer disputes.
12-14 Walker Avenue, Stratford Office Village, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, T:0203 598 7390, E: enquiries@ombadr.org, W: www.ombadr.org or www.utilitiesadr.co.uk
Alternatively, you may use the European Commission’s electronic form: http://ec.europa.eu/odr
The Managing director may investigate the facts of the case himself or delegate a suitably senior person to do so. This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage One.
If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond.
The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage One should be kept informed of what is happening.
Variation of the Complaints Procedure
The Managing Director may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about a depot manager or senior manager should not also have as the person leading a Stage Two review.
Monitoring and Learning from Complaints
Complaints are reviewed six monthly to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.