Comments, compliments & complaints

For customer feedback and service improvement.

ECL aim to ensure that you receive the highest quality service. We care about getting it right for you and therefore we welcome your comments, compliments and complaints. We take them seriously, listen carefully and do everything we can to ensure you are satisfied with our service. We are committed to learning from our customers’ experiences, good and bad.

Confidentiality

ECL handles information provided to us in accordance with the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation. It may be necessary to sometimes share information with other parties, and where this is the case we may need to seek your permission first, if this is the case we will contact you.

In certain circumstances it may be necessary to share your information with other agencies, without the need to contact you first, this would be when there is a risk to you or others. Further information can be obtained on our website at www.ecl.org/privacy or through discussion with our centre manager.

Help us to help you

When you first contact us, please provide contact details so that we can respond promptly.

It is a good idea to raise any comments or concerns you have as soon as possible so that we can look into them straight away.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

If you are contacting us on behalf of someone else, even a close relative, you should discuss this with them first, as we will need to contact them to obtain their consent to discuss/release their personal information, without this we will not be able to contact you further about the complaint.

Who you can talk to

If you have any comments, compliments or complaints relating to the service(s) that you have received, you can talk to a member of staff.

Write to us at: Quality Corporate and Governance Team, Seax House, Victoria Road South, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1QH.

Call us on: 03330 135 438 This number operates from 7am–11pm, 365 days a year.

Email: feedback@essexcares.org

What to expect from us

If you make a complaint, we will contact you within three working days to acknowledge your message.

An investigating manager will contact you to:

  • Discuss and agree specific areas of concern
  • Discuss suitable timescales for their response to you
  • Provide you with a response, including details of actions we have taken to improve our services.

Not happy with the outcome?

Once your complaint has been investigated by ECL, if you are dissatisfied with the outcome it will progress to our second stage and will be reviewed by an alternative manager. They will review all actions taken by the original complaint manager, make contact with you, then provide a summary letter of their outcome. If you are again not satisfied with the outcome from ECL, you can refer your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and ask for it to be reviewed.

The LGO provides a free, independent service. Their advice team can be contacted for information and advice, or to register your complaint:

The LGO will not usually investigate a complaint until the provider has had an opportunity to respond and resolve matters.

Some of our services are registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC cannot get involved in individual complaints about providers, but is happy to receive information about our regulated services at any time. You can contact the CQC at:

Want advice or more information?

Call up our central support team to discuss all your needs on 03330 135 438