Our Procedure
We are always learning and improving
Every year Clear Voice provides language services to thousands of people via interpreting and translation services.We recognise that from time-to-time things can go wrong and there are a number of informal channels through which we hope problems can be resolved at the earliest opportunity and to the satisfaction of all parties.
Many complaints can be resolved very quickly and without having to make a formal complaint. It is important to let us know that you are unhappy and to give us a chance to put things right. Please speak to our Operations team or your Account Coordinator who may be able to help straight away. If you still feel a formal complaint should be raised, or you still have concerns, then they may pass details of the issue on to the Complaints department on your behalf or you can use our formal complaints process directly.
In cases where an informal solution cannot be found, mechanisms need to be in place should a complaint arise, and our Complaints Procedure may be invoked.
Purpose
Many complaints can be resolved very quickly and without having to make a formal complaint. It is important to let us know that you are unhappy and to give us a chance to put things right.
Please speak to our Operations team or your Account Coordinator who may be able to help straight away. If you still feel a formal complaint should be raised, or you still have concerns, then
they may pass details of the issue on to the Complaints department on your behalf. Alternatively, you can use our formal complaints process directly, as explained below.
Scope
Many complaints can be resolved very quickly and without having to make a formal complaint. It is important to let us know that you are unhappy and to give us a chance to put things right.
Please speak to our Operations team or your Account Coordinator who may be able to help straight away. If you still feel a formal complaint should be raised, or you still have concerns, then
they may pass details of the issue on to the Complaints department on your behalf. Alternatively, you can use our formal complaints process directly, as explained below.
Responsibility
Many complaints can be resolved very quickly and without having to make a formal complaint. It is important to let us know that you are unhappy and to give us a chance to put things right.
Please speak to our Operations team or your Account Coordinator who may be able to help straight away. If you still feel a formal complaint should be raised, or you still have concerns, then
they may pass details of the issue on to the Complaints department on your behalf. Alternatively, you can use our formal complaints process directly, as explained below.
Purpose
Many complaints can be resolved very quickly and without having to make a formal complaint. It is important to let us know that you are unhappy and to give us a chance to put things right.
Please speak to our Operations team or your Account Coordinator who may be able to help straight away. If you still feel a formal complaint should be raised, or you still have concerns, then
they may pass details of the issue on to the Complaints department on your behalf. Alternatively, you can use our formal complaints process directly, as explained below.
Making a Complaint
Who can complain?
Anyone accessing Clear Voice’s services may complain. We will only deal directly with you, and not a third party, unless you have given us written consent to do so.
If you need additional help to make your complaint (such as an interpreter or translation) then please let us know.
Raising a complaint
Complaints can be raised in a variety of ways:
You can email [email protected]
You can use the formal complaints contact form on this website
You can telephone 0800 520 0380
You can put the information in a letter and post it to:
Clear Voice Complaints, Charlton House, Dour Street, CT16 1AT
Please note that your complaint does not need to be written in English. It can be written in your own language (by yourself or someone else) and we will then have it translated. Please let your Account Coordinator or Translation Project Manager know if you will need to use our interpreting or translation services so that we can arrange that at the beginning of process.
Complaints Handling
Each complaint is recorded and investigated. Your complaint will be logged onto our central complaints register and you will be sent an acknowledgement email, with a unique reference number. The complaint will be investigated, and we will let you know the formal outcome via email. Clear Voice aims to resolve all complaints within five working days. However, if the issue is complicated, we will email you and let you know what is happening and how long we think it will take us to reach a conclusion to your complaint.
Upon resolution a report is generated documenting the following:
- The root cause of any problem and suggested follow-up actions designed to prevent a reoccurrence.
- A documented record of the action taken when investigating the complaint.
- Outcome of the complaint (whether the complaint has been upheld) and the corrective/preventive action to be taken where applicable.
All complaints from customers are reviewed by the Complaints Coordinator and Quality Manager. Any findings are shared with the Senior Leadership Team, CEO, and the board of non-executive directors. Discussions are then held to review patterns, trends, root cause analysis and agree corrective/preventive action to be implemented.
Complaint Process
The Complaints Coordinator is responsible for handling the complaint, which includes the following steps:
- Acknowledging the complaint with the customer via phone or email (or both) within one working day of receipt of the complaint. Clarifying the complaint and requesting further information if appropriate.
- Informing the linguist of the complaint and obtaining any information from them as deemed necessary.
- Recording all the information on the complaint register.
- Completing a full investigation to produce an outcome and follow up actions.
- Liaising with relevant departments and Quality Manager as appropriate.
- Outcome and corrective actions taken to resolve the complaint are provided to all parties within five working days. If an outcome cannot be reached in that time, a communication is issued to confirm the new expected resolution date.
- Full details of the complaint, investigation, outcome, and corrective actions taken are recorded and the and the complaint is closed.
- Root cause analysis conducted by the Quality team following the resolution of the complaint and business improvements are implemented where necessary.
- The Complaints Coordinator or Quality Manager will contact the customer to ensure corrective actions taken have been effectively addressed and the complaint has been resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
- Regular meetings are held within the Quality team and within the Senior Leadership Team to evaluate and monitor complaints, review action taken, monitor progress and implement further action that may be required to address complaints.
In the unlikely event the customer is not completely satisfied with the outcome of the complaint they can escalate this by way of an appeal.
- Appeal should be made within five working days of the complaint resolution date.
- The appeal is allocated to a member of the Senior Leadership Team, ensuring that they are independent of the original complaint investigation.
- A response is issued within 5 days of the complaint being escalated, proposing a final resolution.
- Should the issue not be resolved, the complaint is escalated to our professional membership body, the Association of Translation Companies (“ATC”) and an independent arbitration committee.
- If necessary and if interpreter related, you may be entitled to ask their relevant professional interpreting/translation body to also consider the matter. These include:
- National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI)
- Association of Police & Court Interpreters (APCI)
- Chartered Institute of Linguists (IoL)
- Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI)
- International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC)
- National Register of Communication Professionals with Deaf & Deafblind People (NRCPD)
- Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)