- About this Policy
1.1 This policy explains the process of dealing with a complaint from a motorist, a client or one of our employees. It gives our customers an opportunity to inform us when we have fallen short of expectation and how we can put things right.
1.2 National Parking Management takes complaints seriously as they help us to improve our services and resolve any issues of consistency and quality of our business operations.
1.3 National Parking Management receive, evaluate, make, and record its decisions on complaints in a non-discriminatory manner, in accordance with the requirements of the accredited parking association.
- British Standards Considerations
2.1 Under British Standard BS EN ISO 9001:2015 the company has a legal duty to carry out customer satisfaction surveys and as such dealing with their complaints is part of this requirement.
2.2 This policy is designed to deal with concerns raised in relation to parking enforcement only; complaints that do not relate to matters pertaining to the IPC’s Approved Operator Code of Practice or Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 are not covered under the scope of the policy.
2.3 National Parking Management is committed to providing high quality services to all our clients so when something goes wrong, we need the customer to inform us. This will help us to improve our standards.
- Procedure
3.1 A complaint is received verbally then it must be logged with all the relevant information and a request for the complaint to be sent in writing either an email or a letter for our records.
3.2 Definition of a complaint against an appeal – The definition of a complaint is something about the quality of the service provided by our organisation, its processes and/or the behaviour of its staff. The definition of an appeal – correspondence shared against the decision of our organisation – in this instance, the decision to issue a Parking Charge Notice or Notice of Parking Charge – where a change to that decision is required.
3.3 The complaint is received in writing it is then passed to the Complaints Manager who will record all the details on the complaints form (SF NPM 017 – 3) and log it on the register (SF NPM 016 – 2).
3.4 The complaint will then be assigned to the responsible/correct person to investigate and deal with the complaint.
3.5 Acknowledgement of the complaint to the complainant must be done within 14 days of receipt and confirm a date for when the complaint will be resolved.
3.6 Investigate issues raised, identify the causes, and confirm the next steps.
3.7 Resolve the complaint and send the complainant a response with our resolution within 28 days of receipt of the complaint.
3.8 Close complaint – complete complaints form with the outcome, date, and sign off. Log closure on our Complaints register.
3.9 Note any preventative measures that have been implemented or are proposed to be implemented to avoid further complaints.
- How to make a Complaint
Customers who wish to make a complaint must do so in writing. This is to ensure we know exactly what the nature of the complaint is, and this reduces the possibility of ambiguity or of the customer’s complaint not being correctly recorded over the telephone. The complaint will then be registered onto our system and a unique reference code generated.
Once the complaint has been received, we will acknowledge the complaint within 14 days and provide the unique reference code. The acknowledgement will be sent to the name and address, or email provided. In the absence of valid contact details, it may not be possible to process a complaint or process it within the published timeframes.
We will respond to complaints within 28 days of receipt. In some cases, however, the allotted timeframe could be extended due to the nature of the complaint and the complexities surrounding any investigation. If we are unable to reply to the complaint within 28 days, the customer will be written to, to advise of progress.
The complaint must be made within 56 days of the incident taking place and be made in writing via email or post.
Via email: complaint@npmservices.co.uk
Via post: National Parking Management Ltd
95 Arundel Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN13 3EU.
- How Complaints will be recorded
Complaints will be recorded on a complaint’s register and kept on file for 36 months and these will be available on request to authorised bodies. The details that will be retained will be:
- Date of complaint
- Copy of complaint
- Copy of all correspondence
- The outcome
- Details of any corrective action required
All personal data will be redacted in line with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) requirements.
The complaints register will be reviewed every 3 months to identify trends and training opportunities.
- Escalation Process
6.1 Stage one
In the event that the customer is not satisfied with the handling of the complaint, the complaint can be escalated to the Complaints Manager and/or Sales Director. They will acknowledge the escalated complaint within 14 days. A full response to the complaint will be issued within 28 days unless exceptional circumstances have been identified. If more time is needed, the customer will be written to with an update.
6.2 Stage two
If the customer remains dissatisfied with our determination of the complaint, we will provide them with the details to enable them to complain to the Accredited Trade Association or Conformity Assessment Body (full details will be provided at the appropriate time).
In order to escalate a complaint to the Accredited Trade Association or Conformity Assessment Body, the customer must supply the Accredited Trade Association or Conformity Assessment Body with a copy of our final complaint response.
The Accredited Trade Association or Conformity Assessment Body will not review escalated complaints where this is not provided by the customer.
- Confidentiality
All complaints will be dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Please note, when a complaint concerns the issuing of an NPC issued by us, National Parking Management are the data controller. As such the customer should be aware that any information provided in connection with the complaint will be used by National Parking Management to help us deal with it. The customer’s information may also be passed to National Parking Management staff who were enforcing any parking restrictions or conditions at the relevant site. Information may also be shared with the landowner and any permit service provider if relevant to allowing the complaint to be investigated and resolved.
For more information on how we use their information they can contact our data protection officer. More information about your rights concerning the use of your personal data is available within our privacy policy found on our website, https://npmservices.co.uk/privacypolicy
- Roles and Responsibilities
- The responsibility for ensuring that all complaints are dealt with fairly and in a timely manner and the complainant is kept up to date with its progress is assigned to the Complaints Manager.
- All staff have a responsibility to report any complaints received immediately to the office.
- Monitoring/Evaluation
This policy will be monitored by the Managing Director or nominated person to ensure compliance with current British Standards.
- Training
National Parking Management will provide the necessary training to staff that deal with complaints both verbal and written. It is the Company’s responsibility that all complaints are dealt with in a fair and timely manner and that the complainant is kept up to date.
- Review
This policy will be reviewed as and when legislation of the Company’s requirements changes. It will also be reviewed as part of the Company’s Internal Audit Review Process.
- Related Procedures, Policies, and Information Sources
- BS EN ISO 9001:2015 IPC Code of Practice – January 2020
