Who Can Complain?
In most cases your dealings with government offices should be routine and cause you no difficulties or inconveniences. However mistakes and delays can occur or you may feel unhappy with how you have been dealt with. We want you to be provided with a high standard of services so if you go to a Government office where you are dissatisfied about the standard of service, actions or lack of actions by any Service Provider, you have the right to complain about poor service. We have a formal complaint procedure that you should follow.
How To Complain?
If you are unhappy with the treatment you have received, you are entitled to make a complaint, have it considered and receive a response. Whatever the nature of your dealings with any government office, if you have had a bad experience, the sooner you let them know, the sooner they can do something about it. Whether your complaint concerns an unreasonable delay, a mistake you feel could have been avoided, or how you have been dealt with, all Government Offices are keen to learn from errors and put things right as quickly as possible. Our complaints procedure is easy to use and we suggest you follow the steps outlined above
1. Local Resolution: The first step is to lay your complaint with the Service Provider at the Service Window where you were aggrieved. Be sure to take the name of the service provider. Some complaints can be sorted out on the spot, but if this is not possible your complaint will be acknowledged.
• All Government offices have the aim to resolve the problem at stage 1.
2. If you are still dissatisfied, complain to the Customer relationship/Complaint officer at the Ministerial Servicom Unit. Request to see the SERVICOM Charter applicable to the service window where you were aggrieved and ask for a time frame within which your complaint must be handled.
3. If your complaint has not been remedied within the time frame as stipulated in the charter or by the service provider, you may wish to take your complaint further to be looked into at a higher level. If so, please ask to see the NODAL Officer in the government office and make the same requests as you did to the Customer relationship/Complaint officer. Make your complaint. This is best done formally by completing a complaints form (where applicable).
4. SERVICOM Action: At this point if the matter continues to be unresolved and you have not been furnished with the documents and information you requested. If you wish to pursue the matter further, please contact the SERVICOM office. You can do this by
■ Coming to the SERVICOM Office
■ Making a Telephone call to SERVICOM -- When you call please ask to speak to the HEAD OF COMPLAINTS
■ Sending an E-mail to SERVICOM, this email should have the words COMPLAINT as the subject of your email and also be written at the top of your letter.
Your full Name
Name of the Government office at which you were aggrieved
Name of Service Window (department) where the fault occurred
Name of the Service Provider at fault
Reference number given to you by the NODAL Officer (if applicable)
Your Contact telephone number or E-mail Address
A summary of what you think has gone wrong.
Complaints Procedure at SERVICOM
Please note that the SERVICOM office is not a service window, it primarily facilitates grievance redressal at the appropriate service windows, in this regard, complaints are processed as follows:
1. The complaint is acknowledged and then forwarded to the appropriate Nodal Officer of the Service Window.
2. The Nodal officer is expected to respond to the complaint within 10 working days.
3. The Nodal officer is expected to report the progress of the resolution of the complaint within 15 working days.
How to complain about the services provided by Servicom?
If you are not happy with the services provided by SERVICOM at any stage before the conclusion of the review, please telephone or write to us immediately and we will try to resolve any problem. Following the review, if you remain unhappy about the way in which we have conducted the review, rather than with the decision that SERVICOM has made, please let us know. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receipt and respond to your concerns personally within 10 working days.
What to expect when you complain?
Most people don’t like to complain, but we want to make it as easy as possible for you to get things put right. When you do complain, we will deal with you in a friendly and professional manner.
1. Your complaint will be treated seriously and confidentially
2. You will be listened to carefully
3. The position you are in will be appreciated
4. You will not be treated differently from any body else just because you have made a complaint
5. You will not be discriminated against for any reason
6. The Government office will learn from the experience
How to help us deal with my complaints better?
Working Together! You can help us to provide a good service in a number of ways
When you are asked for any information that is needed to deal with your affairs, please provide that information on time
• Always give the correct and complete information
• Keep accurate records of your service failures and experiences
• If a mistake is made, complain as soon as possible so that things can be put right. The sooner you complain, the sooner something can be done about it.
• It would help if you can say what you think has gone wrong and what you think should be done to put it right
• All your suggestions and comments about our services are welcome, so we can move forward and improve