Complaints Policy & Procedure

Ulster Wildlife wants to exceed your expectation in everything we do. However, we know that there may be times when we do not meet our own high standards. When this happens, we want to hear about it, in order to deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again.

We take complaints very seriously and we treat them as an opportunity to develop our approach. This is why we are always very grateful to hear from people who are willing to take the time to help us improve.

General Complaints

A complaint will be logged if:

• The person is clearly stating either verbally or in writing that they want to make a complaint.
• The person is unhappy that a member of staff is unable to resolve an enquiry to their satisfaction and the member of staff asks them if they wish to make a formal complaint.

A complaint will not be logged if it can be dealt with verbally and informally by a member of staff at the time.

Formal complaints made in writing should be sent to the Operations Director, Ulster Wildlife, McClelland House, 10 Heron Road, Belfast, BT3 9LE or emailed as a complaint to complaints@ulsterwildlife.org.

Our promise to you

Ulster Wildlife will make every effort to resolve any complaint quickly and will make at least an initial response within 10 working days.

When we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record is in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis. See Appendix 1 for our detailed Privacy Notice for Complainants.

There is no fee for submitting a complaint.

Our Appeals Procedure

We will do our best to ensure that any person making a complaint is satisfied with the way we handle it. However, if you are not satisfied, then you can write to the Chief Executive within 28 days of receiving our written response, outlining the details of the complaint, why you are not satisfied with our response and what you would like us to do to put things right. The CEO or a Trustee will reconsider the information already collected, re-investigate if necessary, consider your appeal and what further action may be taken and will reply to you within 15 working days.

If you remain unsatisfied after these two stages have been completed, there is no further right of appeal within Ulster Wildlife. However, if you are still dissatisfied, you can pursue your complaint with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission.

Anonymous Complaints: Anonymous complaints will be directed to the CEO & Chairman who will decide whether to investigate or not. If the complaint relates to the CEO it will be directed to the Chairman.

Complaints about fundraising

Ulster Wildlife is committed to the highest standards in fundraising practice. We are a member of the Institute of Fundraising and are registered with the Fundraising Regulator.

Please use the general complaints procedures above for complaints that relate to our fundraising practice.

If your complaint relates to fundraising and you feel it remains unresolved following the general complaints procedure then the Fundraising Regulator can investigate your complaint. You should contact them within two months of receiving your response from us. 

Further assistance with regards to your complaint about fundraising can also be sought from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland 

Complaints about Data Protection

Ulster Wildlife understands that you have trusted us with your personal data and in addition to our own high standards and values we are also organisational members of the Institute of Fundraising. Ulster Wildlife will never sell or pass your details to third parties for marketing purposes.

Complaints about your data can be directed to Ulster Wildlife’s Data Protection Officer – Dawn Miskelly using the complaints procedure above or you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

For more information on your individual rights, please see the Information Commissioner’s Officer’s website