At Samaritans we aim to maintain the highest possible standards in the way that we raise funds, however we recognise that we may not always get things right. When that’s the case, we welcome the opportunity to improve the way we work. But first we need to know when we’ve gotten something wrong. We therefore encourage our supporters and members of the public to provide us with feedback when we haven’t met the standards expected.
To make a complaint about any aspect of our fundraising, simply get in touch with our Supporter Care Team. There are a few ways you can get in touch:
- By telephone, on 03709 00 00 32. Our lines are open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays. Outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail with your name and contact number, and we’ll aim to return your call within two working days.
- By email, at [email protected] — we aim to respond to your email within two working days.
- By post, our address is:
Supporter Care Team
Samaritans
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF
Please ensure you include your name and address with your feedback so that we can respond to you. We aim to respond to all feedback by mail within five working days.
If you prefer, complaints can be made anonymously and we’ll still ensure your feedback is recorded and given consideration so that it helps inform the way we raise funds in the future.
All complaints are recorded and included in our annual complaints return that we provide to the Fundraising Regulator.
What happens when you make a complaint?
We will work our hardest to resolve your complaint during your initial contact with us; however, we may need some more time to investigate. If this is the case, we promise to keep you informed throughout the process.
We will let you know who will be contacting you and when you will hear from us. We aim to have all complaints resolved within 30 days of receipt.
If we are not able to resolve your complaint immediately or you are not satisfied with the response, we have three escalation stages.
Levels of escalation
Stage 1
If you are not satisfied with our response at your first point of contact, your complaint will be passed to the relevant Head of Department, who will respond within 5 working days. If further investigation is required, we will let you know and will aim to a have a full response within a further 5 working days.
Stage 2
If you remain dissatisfied, your complaint will be passed to the relevant Assistant Director who will acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible, with a response being sent to you within 10 working days.
Stage 3
If you are still dissatisfied with the response given at Stage 2 then your complaint will be passed immediately to the Executive Director of Income who will acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible, with a full response being sent to you within 10 working days.
Referrals to the Fundraising Regulator
We want you to feel completely secure donating to us. That’s why we’re members of the Fundraising Regulator and have signed up to their fundraising promise. We use the Fundraising Regulator logo to show you that we’re following these standards and that you can trust us and give with confidence.
We take it seriously if you don’t think we’re meeting these high standards and will always try to resolve your concerns through our complaints process. However, if we have not managed to address your complaint to your satisfaction, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator within two months of our initial response.
To take your complaint directly to the Fundraising Regulator use the online complaints form or call 0300 999 3407. Please be aware that complaints raised directly with the Fundraising Regulator will only be considered if we have been given the opportunity to respond in the first instance.
Complaints not related to fundraising
If you have a complaint that doesn’t relate to any of our fundraising activities, you can find more information about how to raise your feedback on this page.