The Textile Recycling Association Complaints Procedure

The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) has long prided itself on providing an excellent level of service and promoting best practice to our membership both nationally and internationally. Our association cares about the industry and expects its members to adhere to the association’s code of conduct.

If you have reason to make a complaint against a member of the Textile Recycling Association or the association itself, this document sets out how you can raise this and the steps that we will take.

Our aim is to ensure that:

• Members and anyone associated with the industry wishing to contact the Textile Recycling Association know how to do so;
• Respond to communication in a courteous and efficient way;
• It is understood that we listen and respond to any comments in a positive fashion;
• We take action where appropriate.

How should you contact the Association?

The quickest and most efficient way to contact us is by e-mail – [email protected].

Correspondence can also be sent to the postal address listed on our website contact page. However, it can take several days for documents to arrive and our timetable for responding/resolving any issue raised will only start when we are in receipt of them.

A phone message can also be left on our answerphone (0345 459 8276). When leaving a message please leave your name, contact phone number, contact e-mail and a brief message.

How long will it take?

We try to respond fully and conclusively to all concerns within 14 working days. However, you will receive an acknowledgement of your concern within 5 days of it being received. Wherever possible we will try to deal with it more quickly. If we think it will take longer than 14 working days, we will advise you in writing.

How will we deal with your complaint?

We will work hard to resolve any problems that may arise, correct mistakes and address concerns in a courteous and considerate way. We will treat you with courtesy and respect, listen to what you have to say and keep you updated about our progress. We will provide a prompt response and advise you who to speak to should you wish to escalate your complaint further.
All complaints will be dealt with by a designated person(s) so that you will have a definite point of contact if there are any questions or queries.
We are a trade association with limited resources and therefore we will only investigate complaints made against members of the Textile Recycling Association or the association itself. Where we can we will try to provide help to deal with an issue that is not directly linked to the association or its members.
There may be some occasions when we chose not to respond to a complaint at all. These include:

• A complaint about something the Textile Recycling Association has no direct connection to. We may choose to reply to explain that we are not connected to the complaint, however we are not obliged to.
• If a complaint is unreasonably pursued when it has already responded to. Escalation points will be provided but we may choose not to reply again, we will always inform you of our decision to do this.
• When we have reasonable grounds to suspect that the complaint is nefarious.
• When a complainant is being obviously abusive, prejudiced or offensive in their manner.
• When a complaint is incoherent or illegible.
• When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we chose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.
• Complaints made anonymously. However, in such instances we may investigate the complaint and use the information to make improvements in any way that we can.=

What happens if you are not happy with the way your complaint is handled?

If you are still not happy with the way your complaint was handled you can register an appeal against the decision within 14 days of being notified of the decision. Upon receipt of a request for an appeal, a panel of independent stakeholders appointed by the TRA will be convened to hear the appeal. To make such an appeal e-mail [email protected]. Further details will be provided upon lodging such an appeal. Any decision arrived at by such an appeal panel will be final.

Our Intentions

We believe all comments and complaints provide us with an opportunity to improve. We are happy to acknowledge any mistakes we have made and apologise for them whilst trying to prevent them from happening again. Your comments help us to provide a better service to our members and the Industry.