Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of our activities:

Sometimes we get things wrong, and when we do, we aim to make it right.

Our Promise:

Yorkshire Air Ambulance treats all complaints seriously and will deal with them efficiently, thoroughly and in accordance with the appropriate governing bodies’ guidelines. This could include the Fundraising Regulator for fundraising complaints, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for flight-related complaints, or internally if regarding a member of our staff or volunteers.

Fundraising Regulator: www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk
Civil Aviation Authority: www.caa.co.uk

How to tell us about a problem:

If you have a complaint, we would like to hear from you about it as soon as possible. When you contact us, please include as much factual information as possible such as date, time, location and names, along with any actions you would like us to consider in relation to resolving your complaint. Your complaint will then be referred to the most appropriate person at YAA to deal with it.

We would prefer to receive your complaint in writing so we can ascertain as much detail as possible. This can be done by completing the form below.

If you are unable to complete the form, you can also call us on 01422 237900 and ask to speak to a member of our Senior Management Team. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Please note, for any complaints in reference to damage to property or similar, we will require photographic and/or video evidence documenting the damage. This will be requested directly by the investigating officer.

How we will handle your complaint:

In line with the appropriate governing body guidelines, we will provide an initial acknowledgement within 3 working days. We will then commence a preliminary investigation, but if we need any more specific details from you, we will follow up by either email or phone. We will do all we can to resolve your complaint, and the majority of complaints are resolved at this point.

If we are unable to resolve the complaint at this time, we will continue to further investigate all the details of the circumstances of your complaint and will keep you informed as to progress. We will issue a final response in writing within 28 working days. However, we will always aim to get your complaint resolved before this deadline if we can.

If together we can’t find a solution…

For fundraising-related complaints, YAA is registered with the Fundraising Regulator, which offers an independent review service. So, if you are still not happy after we have tried to put things right, you can ask them to look at your case for free.

Tel: 0300 999 3407
Website: www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk
Address: 2nd Floor, CAN Mezzanine Building, 49-51 East Road, London, N1 6AH

Please bear in mind that the Fundraising Regulator will only assist with your complaint if you have already referred the complaint to us and are still not happy after we have tried to resolve it.

For flight or aviation-related complaints, YAA operates under the rulings and regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). If you wish to escalate your complaint to the CAA, you can do so by completing their online form:

https://www.caa.co.uk/our-work/make-a-report-or-complaint/report-something/

For complaints referring to the conduct of staff or volunteers, damage to property, marketing or PR matters, or helicopter landings, these issues are dealt with internally. If you are unsatisfied with our initial outcome, we will escalate your complaint to a member of the Senior Management Team or Trustee Board for final investigation and outcome.