Viking Solutions UK Ltd - Complaints Policy

INTRODUCTION

Viking Solutions takes complaints seriously as they help us to improve areas of our products and services and to resolve any issues relating to the consistency and quality of our business operations.

Our complaints policy is an opportunity for customers to tell us when we might have fallen short of expectation, and how we can put things right.

We receive, evaluate, make and record its decisions on complaints in a non-discriminatory manner, in accordance with the requirements of the current Single Sector Code of Practice, which can be viewed here.

COMPLAINTS

Any complaint MUST be directly to us in the first instance by writing to us at the office address or by email to parkingteam@vikingsolutionsuk.com. (please include "complaint" within any correspondence).  Before we log your complaint officially, we may firstly attempt to discuss the matter informally, as we do understand that misunderstandings can sometimes happen, which can be resolved without invoking the formal complaints procedure.

INTERNAL COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Any complaint must have be entered into the complaints register. The minimum information required is the following:

a. date of complaint;
b. the complainant;
c. copy of complaint;
d. copy of all correspondence;
e. outcome;
f. details of corrective action required and undertaken to ensure the situation does not recur (where the complaint has merit).

All our motorists are provided with information regarding to our internal complaints procedures at the time of providing them with a Notice to Driver/Keeper/Hirer.c

If a complainant is not happy with the way that a complaint has been handled, we must refer them to the IPC (International Parking Community). We must acknowledge the complainant within 10 working days of receipt and conclude complaints within 20 working days. Where there are exceptional circumstances for not concluding the complaint within 20 working days we must write to the complainant and explain why the matter is not concluded and when it will be. We must write to the complainant when the complaint is concluded.

Our register must show the last 36 months of complaints on a rolling period.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN ON RECEIPT OF A COMPLAINT

Investigations shall be completed by trained complaints handlers. The complaints handlers shall:

• Review the complaint
• Gather evidence to uphold or dismiss the complaint. Which may include

o Speak to member of staff involved (where applicable)
o Speak to team leader (where applicable)
o Review parking charge issued (where applicable)

• Review against the current Single Sector Code of Practice to see if there has been a breach

WHERE A COMPLAINT ALSO PURPORTS TO BE AN APPEAL

Where a complaint also includes information that purports to be an appeal, the appeals process should be enacted, and the complainant should be informed that the complaint is being treated as an appeal and therefore the appeals process is being followed.

If after further investigation it is clear that the complaint is not relevant to an appeal or the complainant informs the parking operator that they do not wish it to be handled as an appeal, then the process shall revert back to the complaints process.

If a complaint is received which is against an appeal decision made against a Parking Charge, it will not be considered as a formal complaint. If a complainant is unhappy with an appeal decision, they have the option of submitting a second appeal, using the information given on the appeal decision documentation.

Our definition of a complaint is something about the quality of the service provided by an organisation, its processes and/or the behaviour of its staff.

CONCLUDING COMPLAINTS

Complaints must be investigated and concluded within 28 days of receipt. Responses should follow the way in which the complaint was initially lodged by the member of the public i.e. if the original complaint was submitted by post, the response should be sent to the complainant through the post unless the complainant has specifically requested a response through another form of communication.

The outcome shall be recorded in the complaints log.

When concluding a complaint, the response shall inform the complainant that if they are not happy with the way that the complaint has been concluded that they can refer the complaint to the IPC and provide them with the details of how to do this. 

EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Where there are exceptional circumstances for not concluding the complaint within 28 days, communication must be had with the complainant to explain why the matter will not be concluded within the timeframe and when it will be. Communication must be sent to the complainant when the complaint is concluded.

CORRECTIVE ACTION

If the complaint is upheld, any corrective action shall be recorded in the complaints log. Corrective action may include:

• Staff training
• Staff disciplinary
• Amending processes
• Suspending enforcement on a site

REPORTING BREACHES OF THE CODE OF PRACTICE

Where the investigation has identified issues that constitute a breach of the current Single Sector Code of Practice this shall be reported the IPC to investigate. The IPC shall be provided with all of the information gathered from the original complaint and subsequent investigation.

All material breaches of the code of practice shall be reported to the IPC within 3 working days of becoming aware of the breach. Serious breaches should be notified within 1 working day of becoming aware of it.

A material breach is a breach which is likely to result in risk to an individual, the organisation, the industry, or the IPC. 

A serious breach is a breach which is likely to result in sanction points under the sanction scheme.

COMPLAINTS FROM MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

In addition to the requirements above, where a complaint is received from an MP we must, upon resolution of the complaint, refer the MP to the MP portal on the IPC website. We must ensure that the following statement is included in any response to an MP:

“We are members of the International Parking Community (IPC) Accredited Operator Scheme (AOS). The IPC is a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA) and has a Code of Practice and an Independent Appeals Service (IAS) that allows a Motorist access to an independent adjudication process on the lawfulness of Parking Charges issued by their members. An important condition of being an AOS member is that operators must adhere to The Code.

If you are not content with the response, we have provided you with, you can refer this to the IPC who will investigate and provide you with a response. To make this process as simple as possible the IPC has created a communication portal on their website https://theipc.info/login for you to use. They have created a username for all members of Parliament. Your username will be your email address. An email will have been sent with your login details. There is an option for you to reset your password if you are unable to login. If you have any issues, please contact the IPC via email on mp.enquiries@theipc.info."