Making a complaint

Our supporters are at the heart of everything we do at Greater Change. Your passion, your commitment and your loyalty help change the lives of thousands of homeless people every year.

We’re so grateful for everything you do, whether that’s donating, volunteering, campaigning or visiting one of our shops and cafes. So, if ever you’re unhappy with us, we want to know. If you’ve got a question, we want to help. And if you think we might have done something wrong, then we want to hear about it.

Our policy

Our Supporter Services team pride itself on delivering outstanding customer care. We set ourselves high standards. And if we receive a complaint, we’ll aim to get back to you within 2 working days.

If it’s a complicated issue and we need to do some more investigation, then it might take a little longer to give you a thorough response. In those instances, we would expect to resolve the complaint within 10 working days.

If a complaint is received by phone, it may be possible to resolve the situation satisfactorily during the initial call. But if it’s necessary to investigate further, then we’ll tell you (i) what we’re going to do and (ii) when we’ll get back to you. You’ll also be given the name and number of someone to stay in touch with throughout.

If you make a complaint in writing, you’ll receive a written reply, even if we’ve spoken to you during resolving your concerns.

How to make a complaint

If you do want to make a complaint, please fill out the form below, you do not need to fill in personal details and can remain completely anonymous

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If you are unhappy with our response

If for whatever reason, you’re unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you can escalate your concern for further consideration.

The escalation levels are:

Escalated complaints should be put in writing either by email or by post to Buxton Court, 3 West Way, Oxford, OX2 0JB.

Where complaints are of a particularly serious or sensitive nature, we may choose to handle the original complaint at an escalated level, e.g. by the Director of Fundraising or the Chief Executive.

We’ll always try to resolve any escalated complaints within 2 working days of receipt. If we do need to do some further investigation, then we’ll let you know what we’re going to do and when we’re going to get back to you.

If you're still unhappy

We’re confident that we’ll be able to resolve your complaint quickly.

However, should your concern remain unresolved and your complaint is about fundraising, the Fundraising Regulator will investigate your complaint and report their findings to you within 30 days.

If you are still dissatisfied, you can ask the Board of Directors of the Fundraising Regulator to look again at your complaint. Their decision will be made within 60 days and will be final. Crisis agrees to abide by decisions made by the FR Board.

Complaints about collections

Where your complaint relates to Public Collections, you should contact:

  • the Local Authority Licensing Officer
  • the Police

Other complaints

Where your concerns relate to:

  • dishonest handling of funds
  • misapplication of funds
  • actions that contravene the Greater Change trust deed or charity law
  • actions that threaten to bring Greater Change into disrepute

you should contact the Charity Commission

Refunds

If we make an error with your direct debit donation we will make a refund to you, on request, in line with the Direct Debit guarantee scheme. If a refund is made which is not due, you are required to repay the amount to Greater Change.

If you believe we have made an error in processing a donation made by cheque or payment card, please contact Supporter Services at enquiries@greaterchange.co.uk for help. If we have made a mistake we can make a refund to you, on request.

We accept donations in good faith and the money is put to use immediately to help homeless people. We cannot refund your gift unless an error has been made on our part. We do hope you understand.