Complaint - this is one of the forms of protection of the rights of citizens. Almost every person in one way or another came across this term. One would like to recall the catch phrase: “I will complain, I will find you to rule!” Many, of course, do not seriously take such exclamations, but in vain. In the article, we will explain this concept in detail and give an approximate sample of the response to the complaint in order to prevent the development of the conflict. After all, it is in the interests of both entrepreneurs and customers. But first things first.
Types of Complaints
The sample response to the complaint depends on the particular type of paper mentioned. We list the main ones:
- Litigation This appeal, cassation, private on the determination or actions of the court. Thus, this concept is close to the meaning of “statement of claim”. Regulated by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
- Complaints to state bodies about actions or inaction of officials, organizations, enterprises. For example, to the state inspectorate for violation of labor rights, the prosecutor’s office, etc. A synonym for the word “statement”. Both of these concepts in this case are legally equivalent. As a rule, they are regulated by the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
- Complaints about trading enterprises, shops, etc. Can be in the form of a personal statement, as well as written in the book of reviews and suggestions. In Soviet times, it was called the "mournful book." In this sense, it is synonymous with the concept of "claim." Regulates its civil code of the Russian Federation. Next, we will tell you more about the claims.
“Give a plaintive book”
According to the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", every institution should have a book of reviews and suggestions. The response to the complaint is mandatory. At the request of the client, the institution is obliged to provide it.
How to respond to "provocateurs"?
Some citizens often abuse their right and try to assert themselves at the expense of the staff of the institution. They usually write negative reviews for any reason, and sometimes without it.
Suppose a situation. A woman entered the Internet cafe. She asks the administrator to help send a letter, find information and then on the list for half an hour. The employee has to go out of the cash register and help the lady. As a result of “instead of thanks,” she takes a book of reviews and “scribbles” a whole page of negative information. She was “cheated, rude, poorly served”, etc. After a week, the woman comes again to check if her record has disappeared, and again leaves a negative review for half a page. The staff are perplexed, the owner too. What will the inspecting employees of Rospotrebnadzor say?
There is really nothing to fear. But you still need to respond. A sample response to the complaint would look something like this: “On the merits of the claim, an inspection was conducted by the administration. A conversation was held with the staff. It is recommended that you carefully consider the wishes of customers. Full name, position, list, number. " Any complaint, regardless of the degree of “guilt” of employees, should be dealt with in detail.
The reason is not the legislative obligation stipulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Staff should be aware that any recall is fraught with consequences. Such a measure will allow to “increase” responsibility for actions before clients, mobilize staff, teach how to work with objections, etc.
Who is writing complaints?
People who leave negative comments in the book of reviews and suggestions are conditionally divided into three categories:
- "Provocateurs." The purpose of their visit to the institution is to leave a negative entry. It can be competitors, ill-wishers, etc.
- "Scandalists." They like to assert themselves at the expense of the store staff. The goal is not to write reviews in the book, but any situation makes them crazy and they start to make a scandal. Often such incidents result in negative feedback.
- "Angry." These are ordinary citizens who are really “brought to the boiling point”. Such people, as a rule, do not like to complain, but they do it when they are literally forced. They are the "litmus test" of the enterprise.
The head of the company must take all complaints seriously. The first category of people is very rare. The second is more often, but sometimes employees are really to blame for the appearance of such records. Complaints from the third category are an alarm signal, because some citizens may apply to the court or the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare with an official statement. This can lead to various fines and non-pecuniary damage.
Repeated complaint from the same person
Let's go back to the case with the lady in the Internet cafe. Recall that she returned to the institution and again “dashed off” in the review book. What to do in this situation?
A sample response to the complaint would be something like this: “The second comment does not contain additional information. Consideration denied. ” And that’s all. The "provocateur" can only go to court or complain to the official authorities, but this is fraught with the opposite consequences from the administration of the enterprise. You can write a counter statement.
Wrote and forgot?
With regard to the response of the administration, then, by law, the time limit for considering a complaint is two days. Within five days, measures should be taken to eliminate the shortcomings (preventive conversation with employees, replacement of goods, etc.). If the applicant has left his address or telephone number, then they must also be notified within five days, either in writing or by telephone.
In the event of a shortage of time necessary to eliminate the shortcomings or for an objective “internal” trial, the administration of the enterprise has the right to extend this period to 15 days, while informing the applicant. But the deadlines for responding to a complaint are often not respected.
Major violations
Inspections of Rospotrebnadzor at various enterprises indicate frequent violations related to complaints from citizens.
Namely:
- The deadlines for responding to a complaint have been violated.
- There are no review books in places prescribed by law (they are usually located in the buyer's corner in a place accessible to the visitor).
- The lack of necessary marks in the book of reviews on the measures taken to eliminate the shortcomings. Complaints are simply ignored.
Complaints book: response to the complaint. "Extinguish the light to avoid fire"
As a rule, entries in the “complaint” are related to claims against the enterprise. Often people take offense at the “wrong” service. That is, the claims are related to the service. Of course, not all, but most. Complaints about more serious violations are sent to the controlling state bodies - the prosecutor's office, Rospotrebnadzor. Although before this, attempts are made to resolve the situation with the store.
But back to the review book. "The customer is always wrong." Often this is the motto of many employees. Rudeness, dishonesty and other things related to the service of the enterprise. These are claims of a moral nature, which in the event of a "war" will develop for the enterprise into real losses (loss of reputation, compensation for moral damage, etc.).
For this reason, it is necessary to do everything and even more to “cool” the client:
- As soon as possible, send a response to a customer complaint. It is desirable both in writing and by phone.
- Mandatory apology.
- Thanks for the claim. What should the response to the complaint look like? An example of writing: “Dear Ivan Petrovich, thank you for pointing out our shortcomings, we will definitely improve our service. We hope that such an incident will never occur again. We will be glad to see you again in our store. ” Too many pronouns in three short sentences, but this technique creates a psychological appearance of "live" communication.
These measures will not only avoid further proceedings, but also get a loyal and satisfied client.
How to respond to complaints
We will simulate a situation in order to understand how to correctly respond to a complaint. Suppose a young family has collected all the documents in the Social Security Service to receive child allowance. After that, no “news” was received from the state agency. Then the young mother decided to find out about the reasons for "silence" herself. As often happens, she was rude there, no explanation was provided. Money, of course, is also not listed. There was no refusal to assign benefits either. Court seemed unavoidable. Several months have passed. The family hired a lawyer who filed a lawsuit. But before taking him to the "Themis monastery", they wrote a statement to the prosecutor. It complained of unlawful inaction of social protection.
Suppose, in our example, the prosecutor’s response to the complaint was surprisingly lightning fast. Within 10 days, the family received a response on the merits. Within a month, all arrears were paid. A response letter was also received to the complaint, and not only from the prosecutor's office, but also from the social protection leadership (by law, they might not have done this), and even with an apology. In addition, employees several times brought them over the phone (which was also not their responsibility), admitted their mistakes.
Such actions in most cases stop people from further proceedings. Here is a good example of how to give answers to complaints from citizens.
Formal written customer complaint
It is necessary to give an answer to the complaint of a client who wrote it not in the review book, but sent a written statement to the legal address, taking into account the following features:
- As a rule, official appeal is filed for the purpose of “pre-trial settlement”. It speaks of the “serious” mood of the applicant.
- The time frame for responding to a complaint differs from a “book” claim. Make up 10 days from receipt.
Reply to complaint: example
If you have received a written request from a client and are confident that you are right, then you need to give the most reasoned answer. In such answers, it is desirable to state in as much detail as possible the legislative basis of lawful refusal, but in absolutely trusting colors.
What is the best way to compose (in this case, just compose rather than write) a response to a complaint? We give an example below:
“Dear name, full name, we are sincerely sorry that you were in a similar situation. We are on your side and sincerely want to help you. But the situation is such that we cannot do this from the point of view of legislation. Our actions will violate the following regulatory legal acts: (we list). Please accept our sincere apologies. We hope to see you again in our store. Wish you all the best! Best regards, Administration (name of organization). ”
Please understand the government
A complaint to government bodies on paper is covered by the Federal Law “On Written Appeals of Citizens”. It includes all complaints to the controlling state bodies: the prosecutor’s office, labor inspectorate, Rospotrebnazdor, Rosmednadzor, Rosobrnadzor, etc. There are a lot of supervision in Russia, it’s hard to list everything.
According to the aforementioned Federal Law, answers to citizens' complaints must be given within 30 days from the receipt of the appeal. But there are cases of extending this period for another 30 days.
For example, the prosecutor’s response to the complaint. Before this, a thorough investigation must be carried out (request documentation, call, interrogate, etc.). 30 days is not enough. In this case, the prosecutor's office extends the period for consideration of the complaint by another 30 days (this is the maximum), after which a notification is sent to the applicant indicating the reason.
Anonymous Complaints
Anonymous complaints are not considered by government agencies. Imagine how much abuse there would be if the law did not limit this. A check by the prosecutor’s office or labor inspectorate could be any day on the basis of a statement by “anonymous well-wishers.”
Of course, a government agency can respond to such a letter about a crime. However, he is obliged to report this to law enforcement agencies on his behalf. In our country, it so happened that this happens extremely rarely. It’s easier, as they say, to “close your eyes” and pass by.
No response to complaint from prosecutor's office
The prosecutor’s office, according to the Federal Law “On Written Appeals of Citizens”, as well as the Federal Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office”, is obliged to give a written response within 30 days (in special cases, the term has been extended to 60, but with the obligatory notification of the applicant) to the complaint within its competence. If no answers come from the state agency, you can file a complaint about inaction:
- to a higher prosecutor;
- to court.
Court Complaints
Judicial complaints require serious legal qualifications. Such a document cannot be compiled without special knowledge and skills. Depending on the goals, there are:
- Appeals and cassation appeals against court sentences.
- Private complaints. Also on various determinations and sentences of world, district courts.
- Private complaints to a qualified collegium on the action (inaction) of the minister of Themis.
The court’s response to the complaint depends on the specific case provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the CAS of the Russian Federation and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
As a rule, the reaction should be followed within 10 days. The response (determination) must indicate compliance of the complaint with the legislation, as well as the time frame and procedure for its consideration. If you leave it without movement, you must know that there is a written procedure for appealing against such a decision.