Criticism, Compliments and Complaints Procedure

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire is committed to providing a high quality of service. Despite this commitment sometimes things can go wrong. When this happens, we encourage individuals to inform us so that we can try and resolve the issue as early as possible. 

There are a number of ways you can choose to get in touch with us with comments:

You can call us on 01954 713500 (Cambs); 01604 405285 (Northants); 01234 364213 (Beds) and one of our staff will take the details of your query. Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Outside of these hours you can leave a message and a contact number and someone will return your call the next working day.

You can email us at cambridgeshire@wildlifebcn.orgbedfordshire@wildlifebcn.org, or northamptonshire@wildlifebcn.org

Or you can write to us at:

Wildlife Trust Enquiries
The Manor House
Broad Street
Great Cambourne
Cambridge CB23 6DH

We will respond to your comment via the same method you contacted us unless you request otherwise, although we have found that the best way to resolve a problem quickly is by telephone.

If your comment becomes a formal complaint then we will ask you to put this in writing including your name, address and contact telephone number and the nature of your complaint so that we can get in touch with you.

What we will do

  • We will endeavor to acknowledge your comments within 5 working days and if a detailed response is needed will respond within 28 working days.
  • If you are still not satisfied and you wish to make a formal complaint, this will be dealt with under our formal complaints process and we will ask you to put your complaint in writing.
  • Please ensure you give a detailed account of your complaint and the reasons why you are not satisfied with our response. All complaints will be treated with confidentiality and according to data protection regulations.
  • We are honest and open about the types of complaints to which we will not respond in detail. There are times when we may choose not to respond to a complaint at all:
  1. When a complaint is about something to which the Wildlife Trust has no direct connection. We may choose to reply to clear our name but we are not obliged to.
  2. When a complaint has only a very broad connection to something that the Wildlife Trust is working on but is not something on which we have control or influence, for example political issues.
  3. When someone unreasonably pursues a complaint that we have already responded to. They will be given escalation points but we may choose not to reply again.
  4. When a complaint is incoherent or illegible.
  5. When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we can choose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.
  6. The Wildlife Trust cannot respond to complaints made anonymously. However, we will investigate the complaint and use the information to improve in any way that we can.
  7. We may direct the following types of contact to the police and this may result in action by them
  8. When a complainant is being abusive, prejudiced or offensive in their manner.
  9. When a complainant is harassing a staff member.

Who else can help?

If you are not completely satisfied with the outcome of your complaint or how it has been handled by members of our team, we will review this in line with our complaints procedure and ask another manager to review it. If you are still not satisfied there are external bodies that can review your complaint and our handling of it.

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and is committed to the highest standards in fundraising practice. If your complaint is to do with fundraising and you feel that it has been unresolved by us then the Fundraising Regulator can investigate your complaint. You must contact them within four weeks of receiving your response from us. You can complain

By post to
Fundraising Regulator
Eagle House, 167 City Road, London, EC1V 1AW

Online at
www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/make-a-complaint/complain-about-a-fundra...

By phone
0300 999 3407 

Alternatively if your complaint is related to another area of our work and you do not feel completely satisfied by our response then you can contact:

The Charity Commission
PO Box 1227
Liverpool
L69 3UG
0845 3000 218
www.charity-commission.gov.uk