How to Complain and Your Rights
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- In the first instance you should complain, in writing, to the organisation/individual concerned. If you are unhappy with the response, you can escalate your complaint to the organisations detailed below.
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- General Complaints:
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- Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
- Local Authority
- Consumer Complaints
- Office of Fair Trading:
- The Consumer Gateway (Department of Trade and Industry,
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DTI)
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Community Legal Service (CLS)
- Department of Health (DOH)
- Cosmetic Surgery:
- National
Institute for health and clinical excellence.
Surgeons
- Personal Grievance Guidelines
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- Food & Drinks:
- Food Standard Agency
- Advertising:
- Ofcom (the Office of Communications)
- Advertising Standards Authority
- The Press Complaints Commission
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Health and Fitness (Member Association):
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The Fitness Industry Association (FIA)
- Other:
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- General Complaints organizations:
- This list provides details of organisations who assist or provide information detailing ‘How to Complain’ to business or service providers. They may also provide details on your ‘rights’.
- Citizens Advice Bureau(CAB)
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This service offers free, confidential, impartial and independent advice. It also provide on-line advice and information about your rights. They also offer advice on goods/services bought in from another European country.
- www.adviceguide.org.uk
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Local Authority eg.Trading Standards, Environmental Health etc.
- The Consumer Complaints website, can refer trading standards related complaints on to the appropriate Trading Standards dept.
- www.consumercomplaints.org.uk
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- Office of Fair Trading,
- Aims to
promote and protect consumer interests throughout the UK, while ensuring that businesses are fair and competitive.
- www.oft.gov.uk
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- The Consumer Gateway (Department of Trade and Industry, DTI)
- The Consumer Gateway do not offer advice on individual consumer problems. However the do provide details on ‘How to complain’ and has an index of complaint handling bodies.
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- In addition they provide information on business obligations to their customers.
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http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
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- Community Legal Service (CLS)
- This organisation was set up by the government covering England and Wales. It enables individuals to find help concerning their legal rights and understand how to enforce them.
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http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/
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- Department of Health (DOH)
- Is responsible for setting overall direction and leading transformation of the NHS and social care. Complaints about must be made via the formal complaints procedure.
- www.doh.gov.uk
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Cosmetic Surgery
- Before making a formal/legal complaint about a plastic surgery procedure or surgeon, see the common legal questions, that you are likely to be asked. The questions should also be at the back of your mind, the next time you are considering undergoing plastic surgery.
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National Institute for health and clinical excellence.
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The National Care Standards Commission is a new, independent public body set up under the Care Standards Act 2000, to regulate social care and private and voluntary health care services throughout England.
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http://www.csci.org.uk/
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- Surgeons
- Complaints about British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) members can also be made to the Association. BAAPS.
- www.baaps.org.uk
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Food & Drinks
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Food Standard Agency
- Allows consumers to complain about a) food quality, hygiene and safety issues (Environmental Health Officers) and b) about food labelling, ingredients, and weights and measures (Trading Standards Officers).
- www.foodstandards.gov.uk
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- Advertising
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Every year thousands of advertisements appear for products which claim to contain health or beauty-enhancing qualities.
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- Ofcom (the Office of Communications)
- Ofcom, is the new regulator for the UK communications industry. Ofcom inherited the duties of the five communications regulators - the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), the Independent Television Commission (ITC), Oftel, the Radio Authority and the Radio communications Agency.
www.ofcom.org.uk -
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- Advertising Standards Authority
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Allows complaints from individuals who feels that they have been misled or offended by a non-broadcast advertisement in the UK.
- www.asa.org.uk
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- The Press Complaints Commission
- An independent body which deals with complaints from members of the public about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines.
- www.pcc.org.uk
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Health and Fitness (Member Association)
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- The Fitness Industry Association (FIA)
- The trade body for the health and fitness sector with over 1600 operator members including all the major chain operators and in excess of 100 suppliers. Members agree to comply with a professional code of practice and formal complaints procedure
- www.fia.org.uk
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