The full complaints procedure for Family Restore Ltd. It covers the therapy itself, administration, fees, information handling, this website and the premises.
Our commitment
Something will occasionally go wrong. A session will be handled badly, an email will not be answered, an invoice will be incorrect, or something said in the room will land in a way it was never meant to. When it does, we would far rather hear about it than not.
We undertake to:
- take every concern seriously, whatever form it arrives in;
- acknowledge it within 5 working days and reply fully within 20;
- look at what happened rather than at who is at fault, and say plainly where we got it wrong;
- apologise where an apology is owed, without qualification;
- tell you what will change as a result, and tell you honestly if nothing will;
- treat you no differently afterwards. Raising a concern will never affect the care you receive.
This procedure covers the whole practice: the therapy itself, administration, fees, information handling, this website and the premises.
Who can use this procedure
Anyone affected by what the practice does. In practice that means:
- current and former clients;
- everyone who took part in couples or family work, individually or together;
- a parent, carer or advocate acting for someone who cannot complain themselves;
- someone who enquired but never became a client, about how the enquiry was handled;
- a visitor to this website.
If you are complaining on someone else’s behalf, we will normally need their written consent before we can discuss their information with you. Where they are not able to give it, tell us and we will find a way through.
There is no time limit, though it is easier for everyone if we hear about a concern while it is recent.
Stage one: raise it directly
If you can, start by saying something to the person concerned. Most things are a misunderstanding, and most misunderstandings are resolved in a single conversation.
Bringing a complaint into the therapy room is allowed, and it is not rude. It is often useful clinical material in its own right — how difficult it feels to say a hard thing to someone is frequently part of what brought you to therapy in the first place.
If that is not possible, or you would rather it were in writing from the start, go straight to stage two. Nothing is lost by skipping ahead.
Stage two: putting it in writing
You can make a formal complaint in any of these ways:
- Email: info@familyrestore.co.uk — putting “Complaint” in the subject line helps it reach the right place quickly.
- Telephone: 07395 854051. We will write down what you tell us and send it back to you to check we have understood it.
- By post: to the practice address on this site, marked for the attention of [name the person who handles complaints].
You do not need to use the word “complaint”, quote this procedure, or set anything out formally. A plain description of what happened is enough.
What helps us to answer well
None of this is required. It simply means we can answer properly first time instead of writing back with questions.
- what happened, in your own words, with dates if you have them;
- who was involved, and whether anyone else was present;
- what effect it had on you — usually the most important part;
- what you would like to happen: an explanation, an apology, a change, a refund, or simply for it to be known;
- how we may safely contact you, and whether it is all right to leave a message;
- copies of anything relevant, if you happen to have them.
What happens, and when
- Within 5 working days we acknowledge your complaint in writing, confirm what we understand it to be, tell you who is dealing with it, and say what will happen next.
- Within 20 working days of that acknowledgement we send a full written response: what we looked at, what we found, where we agree something went wrong, what we are sorry for, and what changes as a result.
- If it will take longer — because someone is away, or the complaint is complex, or we need information from a third party — we will tell you before the deadline passes, explain why, and give you a date. You will not be left wondering.
Where a complaint is straightforward and can be resolved immediately, we will do that and confirm it in writing rather than run the full process for the sake of it.
Investigating a complaint means looking at the relevant records. That is done under the same confidentiality that governs everything else, and it is explained in our privacy notice.
Stage three: if our answer is not enough
Tell us, within a reasonable period of receiving our response, and say what remains unresolved. We will arrange a review by [name who conducts the review — it must not be the person the complaint is about], and reply again within 20 working days.
A review is not a rerun of the same answer. It looks at whether the complaint was properly understood, whether the investigation was adequate, and whether the outcome was reasonable.
You are under no obligation to complete this stage before going elsewhere. The independent routes below are open to you at any point, including immediately.
Complaining to a professional body
This is worth stating plainly, because websites in this field are often vague about it. Counselling and psychotherapy are not statutorily regulated in the United Kingdom. There is no equivalent of the General Medical Council, and the titles “counsellor”, “therapist” and “life coach” are not protected by law.
What most practitioners have instead is voluntary membership of a professional body, which sets an ethical framework, requires ongoing supervision and continuing professional development, and operates its own complaints and professional conduct procedure. Some of those bodies hold registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. That professional route is independent of the practice: you can use it whatever we say, and you do not need to complete our procedure first.
For this practice: [confirm the professional body, its complaints route and the membership number, then add them to lib/site.ts]
Until that is confirmed and published here, please assume nothing. If professional accountability matters to you when choosing a therapist — and it reasonably might — ask us directly, and ask any other practitioner you are considering. It is a fair question and you should expect a straight answer.
Complaints about your information
If your concern is about how the practice has handled your personal information — a message sent to the wrong address, a record you cannot get a copy of, information shared without your agreement — you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. The ICO is the UK’s independent data protection regulator, and it is free to contact.
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Helpline: 0303 123 1113
- Post: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, United Kingdom
The ICO usually asks that you raise the matter with us first and give us a chance to put it right, but you are not required to. Complaining to the ICO will not affect your care here in any way.
Our privacy notice sets out your rights over your information in full.
Complaints about fees and billing
Where the disagreement is about money — an invoice you believe is wrong, a cancellation charge you consider unfair, a refund you think is due — please raise it with us directly first. Billing questions are usually resolved the same week.
As a consumer you also have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and, for arrangements made at a distance, cancellation rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Both are explained in our terms of service.
Free, independent consumer advice is available from:
- Citizens Advice consumer service — 0808 223 1133, or citizensadvice.org.uk.
[confirm whether the practice belongs to any alternative dispute resolution scheme; if it does not, say so here]
Concerns about someone's safety
A complaints procedure is the wrong instrument for an emergency. If you are worried that someone is in danger right now, please do not wait for a written response from us.
- In an emergency, or where a life is at risk, call 999.
- For urgent mental health support at any hour, call 111 and choose the mental health option.
- To report a non-emergency concern to the police, call 101.
- If you are worried about a child, or an adult who cannot protect themselves, contact the social care team at the relevant local authority. They will take a report from a member of the public.
More routes, including domestic abuse and under-19 services, are on our urgent help page.
Help with making a complaint
Complaining is difficult, and it is harder still if you are already unwell, exhausted or frightened of the response. Practical help is available.
- Bring someone. A friend, relative or advocate may write on your behalf or come with you, provided you tell us in writing that you are happy for us to discuss your information with them.
- Use whichever format suits you. Written, spoken, a voice note, or in person. We will put a spoken complaint into writing and send it back for you to check.
- Ask for an adjustment. Larger print, plain-text email, a longer time to respond, or a different channel entirely — see our accessibility statement.
- Take your time. There is no deadline at our end.
Anonymous and third-party complaints
You may complain anonymously. We will look into it and act on anything we can verify, but we will not be able to write back, ask for the detail that usually matters most, or tell you what changed. Where we can, we would rather you gave us a way to reply.
If someone complains about the treatment of another person, we have to be careful. We will not confirm whether anyone is or was a client, and we will not discuss their information without their agreement. Confirming that a named person attends therapy is itself a disclosure of health information. We will still act on any safeguarding concern raised.
What we do with complaints afterwards
Every complaint is recorded, with what was raised, what we found, what we did and what changed. The record is kept separately from your clinical notes, so that having complained does not become part of your clinical history.
Complaints are reviewed in clinical supervision, without identifying you where that is possible, because a small practice cannot see its own blind spots. Patterns across several complaints are taken more seriously than any single one.
Complaint records are retained for [confirm complaint record retention period], and are covered by the same confidentiality and security described in our privacy notice. If a complaint became a claim, our insurer and legal advisers would need to see the relevant material.
Changes to this procedure
This procedure is reviewed at least once a year, and whenever a complaint shows that it is not working. The version and date at the top of the page describe the current text.
If you are in the middle of a complaint when the procedure changes, the version in force when you raised it is the one we will follow, unless the new version is better for you.
