COMPLAINTS POLICY

Parallel Parking Ltd is committed to providing a high-quality service to everyone we deal with. In order to do this, we encourage you to provide us with comments about our service and to tell us if we get things wrong. We want to help you resolve your complaint as quickly as possible and with ease.

A complaint is where there is an issue with the organisation’s conformity against the Code of Practice. A complaint is not where there is a challenge against the validity of the parking charge.

All complaints and any expression or dissatisfaction with our service are treated seriously and equally. Parallel Parking LTD will listen to your complaints, deal with them with professionalism and learn from them, so that we can continuously improve our service.

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not.

Our policy covers complaints about:

• The standard of service we provide.

• The behaviour of our staff.

• Any action or lack of action by staff, affecting an individual or group.

Our complaints policy does not cover:

• Matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaint’s procedure

• Any anonymous complaints.

• Complaints about access to information where procedures and remedies are set out in legislation, e.g. Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act.

Our Standards for Handling Complaints

We treat all complaints both professionally and seriously, whether they are submitted by letter or via email. You will always be treated with courtesy and fairness - we would hope that you will always be courteous and fair in your dealings with our staff.

Parallel Parking LTD has a 2-stage complaints procedure. At each stage, it will help us to resolve your complaint quickly, if you can give us as much clear detail as possible. Complaints should include any documents and correspondence and state that you are making a complaint, in line with our procedure.

The IPC will conclude complaints and inform the complainant and the operator of the outcome, within 28 days of receiving the complaint. Where the complaint cannot be resolved within 28 days, the IPC will inform the complainant and the operator of the timescale the matter will be concluded

How can someone complain?

You can make a complaint by email or post.

You can send an email to info@parallelparkingltd.co.uk, or in writing to:

Complaints

Parallel Parking Ltd

PO box 7401

Walsall

WS1 9TP

The Stages of the Complaint’s Procedure

All complaints are investigated and concluded within 28 days of receipt. All responses will follow the way in which a complaint was initially logged. For example, if a complaint is made via email, this is how we shall respond, unless a specific request is made to respond using an alternative form of communication. The outcome of any complaint is recorded and logged by our complaints’ handlers at Parallel Parking.

Stage 1 - This is the first opportunity for our department to resolve a complainant’s dissatisfaction and the majority of complaints will be resolved at this stage. In the first instance, we will try to get your complaint resolved by the Director against whom the complaint has been made.

Stage 2 - If you remain dissatisfied with our response, you may complain further to the IPC online, via the complaint’s portal

https://theipc.info/login/complaints

If you've not already got an account with The Independent Parking Committee, you'll want to register your details. If you have got an account, you may login using your existing details. Please click the appropriate link (links highlighted red in the image below) to Register or Login.

The IPC will respond to the complainant within 14 days of receiving the complaint. An acknowledgement is that the complaint has been received and is being investigated.

Recording Complaints

Complaints shall be recorded in the internal Complaints register. The following information must be recorded:

• date of complaint;

• the complainant;

• copy of complaint;

• copy of all correspondence;

• outcome;

• details of corrective action required and undertaken to ensure the situation does not recur (where the complaint has merit). The complaints register must maintain the last 36 months of complaints.

Acknowledging Complaints

Complaints must be acknowledged to the complainant within 14 days from receipt of the complaint. An acknowledgement is that the complaints has been received and is being investigated.

Investigating the Complaint

All complaints are dealt with by our company director. Through the complaints process, our director will:

• Review the complaint.

• Gather evidence to uphold or dismiss the complaint, which may include:

o Speaking to a member of staff involved (where applicable).

o Speaking to a team leader (where applicable).

o Review parking charge issued (where applicable).

• Review against Private Parking Code of Practice to see if there has been a breach.

Where a complaint also includes information that purports to be an appeal, the appeals process should be enacted, and the complainant will be informed that the complaint is being treated as an appeal and

Parallel Parking Ltd

Contact: 0333 344 9498 Email: customerservice@parallelparkingltd.co.uk Company Registration: 11977657 Registered in England and Wales

 therefore the appeals process is being followed. If the complainant has already appealed and this has been concluded the complainant will be notified that we cannot process this as an appeal or complaint.

If after further investigation it is clear that the complaint is not relevant to an appeal or the complainant informs us that they do not wish it to be handled as an appeal, then the process shall revert back to the complaints process.

Concluding Complaints

Complaints must be investigated and concluded within 28 days of receipt.

Responses should follow the way in which the complaint was initially lodged by the member of the public i.e. if the original complaint was submitted by post, the response should be send to the complainant through the post unless the complainant has specifically requested a response through another form of communication.

The outcome shall be recorded in the complaints log.

When concluding a complaint, the response shall inform the complainant that if they are not happy with the way that the complaint has been concluded that they can refer the complaint to the IC and provide them with the details of how to do this.

Where there are exceptional circumstances for not concluding the complaint within 28 days, communication must be had with the complainant to explain why the matter will not be concluded within the timeframe and when it will be. Communication must be sent to the complainant when the complaint is concluded.

Corrective Action

If the complaint is upheld, any corrective action shall be recorded in the complaints log. Corrective action may include:

• Staff training
• Staff disciplinary

• Amending processes

• Suspending enforcement on a site.

Confidentiality

All complaints received will be dealt with confidentially and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018. We will treat your complaint in confidence, within our complaints department.

Reporting Breaches of the Private Parking Code of Practice

Where the investigation has identified issues that constitute a breach of the code of practice this shall be reported to the IPC to investigate. The IPC shall be provided with all of the information gathered from the original complaint and subsequent investigation.

All material breaches of the code of practice shall be reported to the IPC within 3 working days of becoming aware of the breach. Serious breaches should be notified within 1 working day of becoming aware of it.

A material breach is a breach which is likely to result in risk to an individual, the organisation, the industry, or the IPC. A serious breach is a breach which is likely to result in sanction points under the sanction scheme.