Legal & compliance
Complaints procedure
How to raise a concern about our care or service, and what happens next.
We aim to provide every family with a compassionate, professional and reliable service. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our care or service, please tell us. We will listen, investigate your concerns carefully and do everything reasonably possible to resolve the matter.
Raising a concern will not affect the care or service you receive from us.
How to make a complaint
You can raise a complaint by email, post, telephone or in person using the details on our Contact page.
To help us investigate fully, we will normally ask for the details of your complaint in writing. If you would find this difficult, a member of our team can listen to your concerns, make a written record and ask you to confirm that it is accurate.
You may ask someone to communicate with us on your behalf. We may need your written permission before discussing confidential information with them.
Please include, where possible:
- your name and contact details
- the name of the person who died
- the service or branch concerned
- what happened and when
- how you would like us to put matters right
- copies of any relevant documents or correspondence
What happens after we receive your complaint
We will:
- Acknowledge your complaint within five working days.
- Arrange for it to be investigated by a director or appropriate senior member of the team who was not directly involved in the matter wherever possible.
- Aim to provide a full written response within 21 working days.
If the investigation is likely to take longer, we will explain why, keep you informed and provide a revised response date.
If you remain dissatisfied
If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may ask for a senior review. Wherever possible, this will be conducted by a different director or senior person who has not previously investigated the complaint.
We will acknowledge your request and aim to provide our further written response within 14 working days. If more time is required, we will tell you why and when you can expect to receive our response.
Independent complaints services
Valentines Family Funeral Directors is a member of both the National Association of Funeral Directors and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.
If we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you may be eligible to refer it to one of the following services:
NAFD Resolve
If you are the person who entered into the funeral arrangements with us, your complaint may be eligible for consideration through NAFD Resolve, the National Association of Funeral Directors’ independent complaints service.
SAIF Professional Standards Committee
You may instead be eligible to refer your complaint to SAIF’s Professional Standards Committee. SAIF provides an approved alternative dispute resolution service and does not charge consumers for making a referral.
Complaints should normally be referred to SAIF within 12 months of receiving our final response.
You should use one external complaints route rather than submitting the same complaint to both organisations. Eligibility and handling will be subject to the relevant organisation’s rules.
Using our complaints procedure does not prevent you from seeking independent advice or pursuing any other rights or remedies available to you.
Confidentiality and records
We will handle complaints sensitively and confidentially. Information will only be shared with the people who need it to investigate and respond to the complaint, subject to our legal and professional obligations.
We will keep an appropriate record of the complaint, our investigation and all related correspondence securely and in accordance with our Privacy Policy.