Tell us what you think

We are committed to delivering an excellent service to all our customers, be they general visitors, our local communities, educational or outreach groups, academics, scholars, tourists, groups, sponsors or corporate clients.

Our aim is to continue to improve our service and standards and deliver a consistently exceptional customer experience. Dealing effectively with customer comments and complaints will help us to achieve our mission and commitment to delivering a world-class service.

How to provide feedback

You can contact us in person, by phone, by email, or by letter as follows.

• In person at any of our venues (please check their opening days and times before you visit)
• Phone: (0191) 232 6789
• Textphone: 18001 0191 232 6789
• Email: info@twmuseums.org.uk
• Write to us at:

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
Discovery Museum
Blandford Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4JA

When you contact us, please give us your name and address - including your postcode - and your telephone number and email address. If you prefer, you can ask a friend or relative to speak or write to us for you.

We are committed to putting you first and providing quality customer service. This includes dealing with any complaint you may have.

We will:

• Deal with complaints quickly and fairly
• Tell you what is happening with your complaint and do everything we can to help you
• Treat the information you give us in confidence
• Explain our decision
• Use complaints to review and improve the way we provide services
• Hold information about you and your complaint for a minimum of two years, unless you contact us to request that we delete it sooner.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is when you tell us you are not happy. For example, if:

• we do not deliver a service on time
• we give you the wrong information
• you receive a poor-quality service, or
• you have a complaint about a member of staff.

Step 1 - Informal Complaints

We will always endeavour to deal with your complaint informally. Our staff will do their best to settle your complaint without you needing to do anything else.

Step 2 - Formal Complaints

If you have spoken to a relevant staff member about your complaint but they have not been able to put things right, or you are not happy with the response, the next step is for you to make a formal complaint. At this stage, we need the details in writing.

Please ask a member of staff if you need help to write your complaint. Again, if you prefer, a friend or relative can fill in the form for you. We will respond to you within five working days to let you know we have received your complaint.

Following this, we will:

• investigate your complaint
• take any necessary action, and
• send a written reply within 28 working days.

If your complaint needs more investigation, and we cannot send you a written reply within 28 working days, we will write to you and let you know when you will receive a written reply.

Step 3 - Complaints Review

If you have been through Steps 1 and 2 of the complaints procedure and you are still not happy with the results of the investigations, you can ask the Director to review your complaint. The Director will write to you within five working days to let you know:

• they are reviewing your complaint
• approximately how long it will take them to carry out the review, and
• when they will send out a written reply.

The Director will aim to complete Step 3 of the complaints procedure within 28 working days.

Please mark this request to review the complaint for the attention of Keith Merrin, Director, and send to:

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
Discovery Museum
Blandford Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4JA

Local Government Ombudsman

You can contact the Local Government Ombudsman about your complaint at any time. However, the Ombudsman usually gives the council the opportunity to investigate first.

You can contact the Local Government Ombudsman at:

Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 OEH

Phone: 0300 061 0614
Fax: 0247 682 0001
Text: 'call back' to 0762 481 1595
Website: lgo.org.uk

Fundraising Regulator

If your complaint is about our fundraising activity, you can contact the Fundraising Regulator.

Please refer to the following link for further information and contact details:

fundraisingregulator.org.uk/complaints/make-complaint

Newcastle City Council

As the lead local authority for Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, you can contact Newcastle City Council.

Please refer to the following link for further information and contact details:

newcastle.gov.uk/services/communities-and-neighbourhoods/compliments-and-complaints

You can also contact:

• your local councillor
• your MP
• a solicitor
• Citizen's Advice Bureau, or
• Advocacy Centre North.