Complaints Procedure

Complaints Procedure for Soho Man and Van

Soho Man and Van is committed to providing a reliable, professional and considerate removals service. We recognise that, on occasion, things may not go as planned. This Complaints Procedure explains how you can raise a concern about our services and how we will handle and resolve your complaint in a fair, consistent and timely manner.

Purpose of this Complaints Procedure

The purpose of this procedure is to give our customers a clear, straightforward route for reporting problems related to our removals and man and van services. It sets out how we receive complaints, what information we need from you, the timescales we work to, and how we aim to put things right. We use every complaint as an opportunity to review our performance and improve our service.

What Counts as a Complaint

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our services, whether justified or not, that requires a response. This may include, but is not limited to:

Issues with the quality of our packing, loading, transportation or unloading services.

Concerns about punctuality, conduct or professionalism of our team members.

Disagreement about how your property or belongings were handled or cared for.

Problems with estimates, invoicing, charges or payment arrangements.

Administrative issues such as booking errors or communication failures.

If you are unsure whether your issue is a complaint, please raise it with us and we will advise you on the most appropriate way forward.

How to Make a Complaint

You can make a complaint verbally or in writing. While we accept complaints in any form, we encourage you to submit your complaint in writing wherever possible, as this helps us to understand the details clearly and to keep accurate records.

When making a complaint, please provide as much of the following information as you can:

Your full name and the best way for us to contact you.

The date and location of the service you are complaining about.

A clear description of what went wrong and how it has affected you.

Names or descriptions of any team members involved, if known.

Any supporting information, such as photographs, inventories or invoices.

If your complaint concerns potential loss or damage to items, please describe the items in question and the nature of the loss or damage as fully as possible.

Our Complaints Handling Stages

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly and informally as we can. However, where necessary, we follow a structured, two-stage process.

Stage One: Initial Review and Response

At the first stage, your complaint will be reviewed by a member of our management team. We will:

Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within a reasonable period of time.

Review the details of your complaint, along with any relevant booking information, removal documents and staff reports.

Contact you if we need further information or clarification.

Provide you with a written response setting out our findings and any proposed resolution.

We aim to complete this first stage within a reasonable timeframe, taking into account the complexity of the issues raised. If we require more time, we will let you know and explain why.

Stage Two: Escalation and Further Review

If you are not satisfied with our initial response, you may request that your complaint is reviewed at a higher level. At this stage, a senior person who was not directly involved in the original handling of your complaint will carry out a further review.

During this stage we will:

Reassess the details of your complaint and our initial response.

Consider any additional information you have provided.

Confirm whether our original decision was appropriate or whether a different outcome is justified.

Provide you with a final written response setting out our conclusions and any further steps we will take.

Possible Outcomes and Remedies

Where we find that something has gone wrong, we will consider the most appropriate and fair way to resolve the matter. Depending on the nature of the complaint, this may include:

An explanation or clarification of what occurred.

An apology for any inconvenience, stress or inconvenience caused.

Taking corrective action to remedy an error or oversight where reasonably possible.

Reviewing our internal processes, training or systems to prevent similar issues arising again.

Any financial or practical remedy that may be due will be considered in line with our terms and conditions, including any contractual limitations of liability that apply to your service.

Time Limits for Raising a Complaint

We encourage you to raise any concerns as soon as possible so that we can investigate while details remain clear and records are readily available. You should normally raise complaints about service delivery within a reasonable period of the move date or the date when you first became aware of the issue.

Complaints relating to loss or damage to items should be brought to our attention as soon as the issue is discovered, so that we can carry out any necessary checks and investigations, such as reviewing inventories, loading notes or vehicle records.

Our Commitment to Fairness and Confidentiality

All complaints are handled confidentially and with respect. We will treat you fairly, listen carefully to your concerns and avoid making assumptions before we have gathered the relevant information. We will not treat you less favourably because you have raised a complaint, and your ongoing relationship with Soho Man and Van will not be negatively affected by doing so.

We will keep appropriate records of your complaint and how it was handled, in line with our data protection obligations. Information about your complaint will only be shared internally with team members who need it in order to investigate and resolve the matter.

Using Feedback to Improve Our Service

Feedback and complaints are an important part of how we maintain and improve the quality of our removal services. We use the information gained through complaints to identify patterns, update training and refine our procedures for planning, packing, loading, transport and customer communication.

By following this Complaints Procedure, Soho Man and Van aims to ensure that any concerns you have about your move are addressed properly and that we continue to develop a service that is safe, efficient and responsive to customer needs.