A complaints policy template giving workers simple rules for taking a complaint, with every complaint logged and assigned to a responsible person.

Effective Policy Templates

This policy template is supplied in fully editable MS Word format and can be easily customised and edited. The document uses pre-defined style formatting throughout, with all text in Calibri font for improved readability.
The following document labelling is included in the footer:

• Policy number and title
• Information-classification
• Version
• Page number / total pages

alphaZ documents - beautifully designed, tried and tested policy templates. No junk, jargon or unnecessary content. Simple and usable policy templates developed over 25 years through practical use in the real world.

Further Reading

Further guidance on complaints and improvement:

• ISO 9001 Clause 10.2 - Nonconformity and Corrective Action
• Consumer Rights and Product Safety
• Consumer Vulnerability
• ISO 9001 knowledge base

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Complaints Policy Template

A complaints policy template setting standards and guidance for the way the organisation's representatives deal with complaints from customers or other groups, alongside the formal documented processes for dealing with complaints and problems.

The policy has Approved By and Date Approved fields and carries a Public information classification, so it can be shared with workers, clients and other interested parties.

What the Complaints Policy Covers

• Taking a complaint - professional, courteous and polite, gathering and documenting as much information as possible
• Objectivity - staying objective and avoiding opinions while collecting the details
• Evidence - collecting damaged items, photographs or anything else relevant to an investigation
• Assurance - telling the complainant the complaint will be investigated and appropriate action taken
• Authority - no offers or promises beyond a worker's authorisation, with the line manager consulted if unsure
• Review - every complaint reviewed under the complaints procedure and logged, even if thought to be unfounded
• Personal data complaints - also handled under the data protection policy, which sets the time limits
• Responsible person - each complaint assigned to one person who reviews it and communicates with the complainant
• Objective - responding to complaints and improving the service so future complaints are prevented or reduced

Written to Be Shared

Like every alphaZ policy, this is written as a public policy statement that can be shared openly with workers, customers, suppliers and assessors. The internal detail of how it is carried out belongs in your procedures.

Using the Policy

Add your company name and logo, check each commitment matches what your organisation does and edit any that do not, then approve and date the policy and share it with workers and anyone else who needs to see it.

Who Needs a Complaints Policy?

Any organisation that receives complaints from customers or others, and organisations working to ISO 9001 that want a written standard for handling them.

Works with the Complaints Procedure

The PP-1-04 Problems Complaints Customer Care Policy Procedure sets out the procedure, complaints can be logged on the F-IMS51 Customer Complaints Register and recorded in detail on the F-Q10 Significant Problem / Incident / Complaint Form, and the TT-1-04 Problems, Complaints and Customer Care toolbox talk briefs workers.

Document Control

The footer carries the policy number and title, information classification, version and page numbers, and the approval fields record who approved the policy and when, so it can be controlled with the rest of your management system documents and listed on a document register such as the F-IMS20 Document Register.

Related Policies

• P-54 Customer Care Policy - customer care
• P-96 Consumer Enquiries and Complaints Procedure - consumer enquiries and complaints
• P-25 Data Protection Policy - complaints about personal data
• P-115 Consumer Vulnerability Policy - consumer vulnerability