Complaints Policy

Introduction

At Align Weight Loss, client satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do. We strive to meet the individual needs of each client and pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. We understand that sometimes things go wrong and you may want to submit a complaint. Please know that we take all complaints seriously and view them as valuable feedback and an opportunity to learn. Making a complaint will not prejudice any ongoing care you chose to undertake with us.

This policy outlines the procedures for handling complaints from clients. It is designed to ensure that all complaints are addressed promptly, fairly, and in accordance with applicable laws and good medical practice.

Dr Flora Bailey is the designated complaints manager at Align Weight Loss.

We’re here to listen. If you have any questions or feedback regarding this policy, please contact us at info@alignweightloss.co.uk

How to make a complaint and what to expect when you do

If you would like to make a complaint, please do so in writing via email. Please email your complaint to us at info@alignweightloss.co.uk and please write “formal complaint” as the title of the email. Please include as much information about what has gone wrong and if applicable your customer order number and any relevant correspondence.

Once we receive your complaint we will acknowledge receipt of it in writing via email within 3 business days.

We will then undertake an investigation into your complaint, the aim of which is to establish what went wrong, why and how things went wrong and what we need to change to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

We will respond formally to your complaint in writing via email (or by letter if you tell us that you would prefer this). We aim to respond formally to all complaints within 21 days. If the nature of the complaint is serious or complex we may need more time to respond. We will let you know in writing if responding to your complaint is going to take longer, and we’ll tell you when you can expect to hear from us.

All complaints and related information will be treated as confidential and disclosed only with those involved in the investigation and resolution process. Any complaint made will be held separately to your electronic medical record (EMR).

We aim to resolve your complaint rapidly and to your satisfaction. However if you are not satisfied you can request a further review of your complaint by an independent staff member who was not involved in the initial review. Please inform us in writing if you would like this to happen.

We are a member of The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). CEDR is one of the largest dispute resolution providers in Europe. CEDR is a not-for-profit charity whose role is to help customers and businesses to find a way to resolve disputes with the assistance of a professionally trained conciliator if we have been unable to resolve the dispute internally. We can refer to them on your behalf, or alternatively you can contact them via their website https://www.cedr.com/consumer/

A learning culture

At Align we foster an open and learning culture. We encourage any concerns about our service to be reported promptly and to be dealt with in a swift and professional manner.

Feedback from complaints will be used to identify areas for improvement in products, services or internal processes. We see complaints as an opportunity for staff learning. We will hold an annual significant events meeting with all staff where we will discuss any complaints in an anonymised fashion. This will allow us to embed any learning points into our practice. In addition it will allow us to identify any trends or recurring issues and act upon them to avoid similar issues in the future. The minutes of these meetings will be documented.

Updates to our Terms and Conditions

We will review our Complaints policy at least annually to ensure it is up to date and fit for purpose. We reserve the right to update our Complaints policy to reflect changes in our business operations or legal requirements. Any updates will be posted on our website and are in effect from the time they are published on the website.