Complaints

Complaints

When Things Go Wrong

The Crofting Commission is committed to providing high-quality customer service. Our complaints process is designed to be accessible, fair, and confidential, following the principles set by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

The Crofting Commission’s complaints handling procedures are a vital part of ensuring continual improvement to our customer service. An in-depth guide to our Complaints Handling Procedure can be found by clicking here.

What is a Complaint

We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf.

Who Can Make a Complaint

Anyone who is affected by the work of the Crofting Commission can make a complaint. That includes agents or representatives of those affected by what we do.

How Long Do I Have to Make a Complaint

Normally, you must make your complaint no later than 6 months after the event you want to complain about.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

How Do I Make a Complaint

You can make a request in person, by writing or by speaking to a member of staff. You can phone us on 01463 663439 or write to us with “Complaint” in the subject line or body of the request.

When making a complaint please provide:

  • Your full name
  • A contact address – this can be a postal or email address
  • As much information as you can about the complaint
  • What has gone wrong
  • How you want us to resolve the matter
  • We would also like to know what you would like to happen as a result of your complaint

Providing a daytime telephone number would also be helpful should we need to contact you about your complaint.

You may wish to use our template ‘Complaint Form’ available for download here Complaints Template.

Can I Remain Anonymous

Complaints can be made anonymously but you should provide us with as much information as possible to enable us to investigate. Please state when contacting us if you would like to remain anonymous and no record of your name will be attached to our files.

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to investigate an anonymous complaint.

Review – what to do if you’re unhappy with our response

If you remain dissatisfied after our investigation, you have the right to seek an independent review from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).

Any complaints referred to the SPSO will have to be thoroughly investigated by the Crofting Commission first.

The SPSO will assess whether there is evidence to suggest service failure or maladministration not identified by the Crofting Commission. They are the final stage for complaints about most organisations that provide public services in Scotland, including the Crofting Commission.

Full contact details for the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) can be found on their website www.spso.org.uk/contact-us.

We also publish detailed statistics for complaints. You can read about our complaint statistics on this page.

Click on the button below to read our complaints procedure in more depth.

Click here to read our complaints procedure