Complaints Policy

About us

We are Bromley Borough Foodbank (“we” or “BBF”), an independent charitable organisation which is part of the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network.

We are a charitable incorporated organisation, a registered charity (with registration number 1167961) and registered (as a “data controller”) with the Information Commissioner’s Office with registration number ZA195992.

We committed to delivering a high standard of service to anyone who engages with our work. We believe that the best way to improve our service is by learning from the people who use it.

We welcome comments, compliments and complaints from the people who use our foodbank, referral agencies, volunteers and anyone else we come into contact with in our work. These help us to see what we are doing well and where we can make improvements.

We aim to promote an environment where people are encouraged to raise and discuss issues informally and, where necessary, seek solutions to prevent them developing into problems or complaints. However, we recognise that there may be situations where people are not happy with the outcome of an informal discussion or feel that the issue needs to be taken further. In these cases, we have this Complaints Procedure so that we can work towards a resolution in a fair and transparent manner.

Our promise and commitment

We recognise that there may be times when our services and activities do not meet your expectations. If this happens, it is important that we know about it as soon as possible so that we can deal with the situation effectively to try to prevent it from happening again and to learn from our mistakes. We promise to take all feedback and complaints seriously and to deal with them in a timely manner.

How to register a complaint or give feedback

If you have a complaint, or would like to share a concern, compliment or comment on any aspect of our service, you can contact us in one of the following ways:

• By phone: 0800 9202324
• By email: [email protected]
• In writing: to Bromley Borough Foodbank, c/o Orpington Baptist Church, Station Road, Orpington, BR6 0RZ

Please tell us what your complaint or feedback is about and what you would like to see happen as a result. Please also tell us how we may contact you.

What happens if you complain

1. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receipt and provide you with the name of the person responsible for investigating the matter on your behalf.
2. The person responsible for the investigation will write to you with their findings and proposed resolution, if possible within twenty-eight days from receipt of the complaint.
3. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation you may appeal or escalate your concerns to the Chair of Trustees at the address for written complaints given above. Your letter must be received within twenty-one working days of the date on the correspondence notifying you of the outcome of the first investigation.
4. The complaint will be reinvestigated and you will be informed of the outcome, if possible within 10 working days.

If your complaint is particularly complex or time-consuming, it may take longer to investigate than the timings given above. If so, we will keep you informed of the progress of the investigation.

Data privacy and confidentiality

We will hold any personal data relating to you in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Notice, which you can find on our website.

Wherever possible, we will respect your confidentiality and keep your complaint confidential as far as possible. Any information about the complaint will usually only be shared with those who need to know in order to help resolve it. If you ask us not to share your complaint with any particular person(s), that may limit the scope of our investigation of it.

There may, however, be occasions when we cannot provide absolute confidentiality, for example in circumstances where a child or vulnerable adult may be at risk of harm.

 

Third-party Complaints Procedure v01, adopted by Trustee Board 28.2.23. Bromley Borough Foodbank is a CIO – registered charity no. 1167961.