When we deal with complaints we will be polite, helpful, positive and fair to both the person complaining and the person (or people) being complained about.
 
We will consider complaints carefully, fairly, as quickly as possible, and in an open and honest way.

How we deal with complaints

We will acknowledge your complaint within five days of receiving it. If we cannot investigate your complaint, we will write to you explaining why. If possible, we will suggest another organisation that may be able to help you.
 
If we can investigate your complaint, we will contact you to explain who will deal with it (the Complaints Investigating Officer) and when to expect a reply. We will consider complaints carefully and, if the matter is straightforward, we will usually reply within 20 working days. If we need to carry out a more detailed investigation we may need to take longer, in which case we will keep you informed of progress.
 
If the Complaints Investigating Officer decides that your complaint is valid, we will send you an apology in writing, along with details of any other steps we think are necessary in the circumstances, including what we will do to prevent the problem happening again. If we decide that your complaint is not valid, we will write to you explaining why.
 
If you are not satisfied because you believe that the Complaints Investigating Officer has not dealt with your complaint in line with the Wales Audit Office procedure, you should contact the Partner - Compliance.
 
The Partner - Compliance may arrange for your case to be reconsidered, (by an independent person if appropriate), as long as you can provide evidence to show why you believe that the Investigating Officer has not dealt with your complaint properly. The independent person will recommend an appropriate course of action to the Auditor General for Wales and send you details. The Auditor General for Wales will consider this to be the final stage of the complaints process.
 
If you provide new information that was not previously available, the Complaints Investigation Officer will consider this information and take appropriate action. However, the Complaints Investigation Officer will not get involved in ongoing correspondence with you if you repeat the same complaint over and over again. The Auditor General for Wales will not respond to complaints that are not genuine or are made to cause trouble, or that are in some way an abuse of the complaints process.
 
We will treat in confidence all communications with the Auditor General for Wales, as far as the law allows. In line with the Data Protection Act 1998, we will protect any personal information that you provide. However, we may need to reveal the content of your complaint in answer to requests made to us under the Freedom of Information Act, the Environmental Information Regulations or some other legal direction.