BBC - Commissioning - Complaints procedure

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• Complaints procedure

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Complaints procedure

In the event of a dispute arising from working with the BBC, the external supplier shall refer the dispute to the local point of contact in the first instance. Both parties shall negotiate in good faith to resolve any dispute arising and should be resolved within a week.

In the event you are not satisfied by the BBC’s response at this stage you should submit a formal complaint in writing to the Relationship Manager. The complaint will be logged and acknowledged with a reference number. If the Relationship Manager agrees that the complaint merits formal investigation, the Relationship Manager will take an impartial and independent view of the case. The relationship manager will discuss it with the external supplier concerned and the relevant commissioning or business affairs contact, and seek a resolution. This stage will take between two and four weeks from receipt of the complaint by the Relationship Manager depending on the complexity of the issue and the number of people involved. However, a status update to the case will be provided upon written application.

Should the complainant continue to be unhappy about decisions made by the relationship manager and the response given, they may appeal to the Head of External Supply. The Head of External Supply will initiate a Complaints Panel. Appeals should be made within a month of receipt of the response from the Relationship Manager. In the event that one of the panel members are in conflict relating to the complaint, another suitable individual will be identified. The Complaints Panel will consider all aspects of the case, and draw on information from executives previously involved in handling the issue. It will also ensure that lessons learned are fed into our editorial and managerial processes.

Any complaint that has been unresolved in the system for 10 weeks should automatically go
to The Complaints Panel for referral.