Complaints should be distinguished from criticisms of or disagreements with Foundation funding decisions.

In receiving a complaint we will aim to:

• Deal with your compliant quickly
• Handle it fairly and politely
• Look into it fully
• Resolve the problem where possible

We hope that most problems can be resolved informally with your usual contact. If, however, you are unhappy then you can use our complaints procedure as follows.

Stage 1

All complaints will be referred to Hilary Cullen EA to the Director, who is the Foundation’s UK Branch complaints co-ordinator and who can be contacted by letter, telephone or email. The contact details are given at the end of this document.

What can you expect from us:

• We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within five working days. We will advise you on when you can expect a full reply and the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.
• We aim to provide a full reply within 10 working days. If this is not achievable as your complaint may be  complicated, it might  take longer. If this is the case, we will let you know within 10 working days explaining why a full reply will take longer, what we are doing to deal with your complaint and when you can expect an answer.
• If we agree that you had a good reason to complain, we will apologise and try to put things right as soon as we can. If we disagree or remedial action cannot be taken, we will tell you why.

Stage 2

If you are not happy with our reply, please contact Chris Holmes, Finance and Resources Manager, who will at this stage involve the Director of the Foundation’s UK Branch. You should explain why you are not happy with our reply and what action you think we should take.

What can you expect from us:

• The Director will take a fresh look at the complaint and carry out an investigation. We will write to you with the results of the investigation within 15 working days.
• In most cases we hope that the complaint is resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction by a sincere apology and remedial action. However, where the complainant has been caused excessive worry, distress or other inconvenience, remedy may be appropriate. The Director will determine the form and level of remedy.

Persistent complaints

We reserve the right to refuse to deal with complaints that are pursued in an unreasonable way.

 

Contacts

Hilary Cullen
Executive Assistant to the Director
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK)
50 Hoxton Square
London N1 6PB
Tel 020 7012 1400
[email protected]

Chris Holmes
Finance and Resources Manager
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK)
50 Hoxton Square
London N1 6PB
Tel 020 7012 1400
[email protected]