Feedback and service complaints policy
Last updated: 2025
Review date: Every 3 years
Policy Owner: Director of Legal & Governance
1. Introduction
1.1. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body driving excellence in architecture. We serve our members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. Being inclusive, ethical, environmentally aware and collaborative underpins all that we do.
1.2. We are committed to providing a high quality, transparent and accessible service to everyone we deal with. All feedback is valuable as it helps us improve our services.
1.3. We would like to know when we do something well, or if you have a suggestion about something we could do better.
1.4. We know that things can sometimes go wrong. If our services have not met your expectations, or caused concern or frustration, we want to know so that we can investigate and, where something has gone wrong, apologise, put things right (if possible) and learn from any mistakes.
2. Aims
2.1. This policy has three aims:
- to offer a user-friendly way for you to give feedback, or complain about the service we have provided;
- to help us to respond swiftly and efficiently to your feedback; and
- to help us monitor our feedback so that we can improve our services or performance.
3. Accessibility
3.1. We want to ensure that everyone can communicate with us, whether to give feedback or to complain ensuring that disabled people are not disadvantaged in accessing its services. RIBA is committed that everyone can access its services to this end, the RIBA will make reasonable adjustments for those individuals who require them.
3.2. We will discuss your specific requirements regarding your request for reasonable adjustments in order to agree a suitable adjustment in the circumstances. For example:
- provision of auxiliary aids;
- provision of information in appropriate alternative formats (e.g. large print, Braille, etc);
- extension of time limits (where it is lawful to do so);
- provision of information/documents on coloured paper;
- use of email or telephone in preference to hard copy letters;
- use of plain English;
- communication through a representative or an intermediary;
- arranging meetings in rooms which have appropriate facilities;
- rest/comfort breaks in meetings; and
- provision for assistance dogs.
4. Feedback
4.1. We are always pleased to receive comments and feedback. If you want to tell us about our service, we encourage you to contact us whether that be to:
- provide feedback about a member of staff;
- offer suggestions for improvements to our services;
- share the positive experience you have had with us; or
- pass on comments about our publications, website or services.
4.2. You can provide feedback directly to anyone you are dealing with, or have dealt with, at the RIBA or if you prefer you can send it to the Governance Team:
FAO: Governance Team
Royal Institute of British Architects
66 Portland Place
London, W1B 1AD
Email: governance@riba.org
Phone: +44(0)20 7307 5355
5. Complaints
What is a service complaint?
5.1. A service complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about how we have provided a service to you.
5.2. This policy and procedure cannot be used to review or change the outcome of a regulatory decision. This includes decisions on reports made about the conduct of the RIBA members.
5.3. Here are some examples of the types of complaint that we can deal with under this policy:
- mistakes;
- lack of care or attention;
- discrimination or unfair treatment;
- rudeness;
- failing to explain things clearly or providing misleading information; or
- unreasonable delays.
5.4. Complaints about how we have processed a person’s personal data (data protection complaints) are managed through a separate process and should be referred to RIBA’s Data Protection Officer – dpo@riba.org.
5.5. We cannot consider the following complaints under this policy:
- reports about an architect’s conduct - for these please visit the RIBA Code of Professional Conduct 2019 section on our website.
- complaints or appeals about regulatory decisions including decisions made by the Board, Council, standing committees or bodies or roles with delegated authority to make such decisions including RIBA staff. A service complaint is not a means by which you can seek to change the outcome of a regulatory decision but we will give information about an appropriate review or appeal process if one exists.
- complaints previously considered by us under this policy about the same or substantially similar issues, unless there is new evidence not originally available to us.
- service complaints that we consider are malicious or vexatious; or
- service complaints made by third parties without clear authority to act on behalf of the complainant or the person we have previously been dealing with.
Who can complain?
5.6. Service complaints can be made by anyone who has come into contact with the RIBA but if you are making a complaint on someone else’s behalf, we will need their permission to deal with you.
When can a service complaint be made?
5.7. Investigations of service complaints generally require a detailed understanding of the actions and communications that happened at the time of the event, so complaints should be made as soon as possible after the event occurs. This enables us to consider, investigate and act on any issues raised in the best way possible.
5.8. We normally expect you to make a service complaint to us within three months of the incident complained of. We may make exceptions for complaints made outside the three-month time limit where there are good reasons for the delay.
Complaints about discrimination
5.9. We are committed to identifying and remedying any instance of discrimination. If a service complaint includes issues of alleged discrimination, we may seek guidance from our Inclusion and Diversity Team or a suitably qualified person independent of the RIBA before responding to the complaint. We may need your permission to do this.
5.10. We are committed to meeting our duties under the Equality Act 2010 as well as the Worker Protection (Amendment to the Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 and we seek to ensure that we promote equality in all that we do. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination – including that based on protected characteristics: sex, race, disability, religion and belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment. We do not tolerate victimisation or harassment.
5.11. For more information on different types of discrimination and the activities the RIBA carries out to address equality and diversity please visit our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion content.
Complaints Process
5.12. Service complaints can be addressed to the person you have been dealing with, or to the Governance Team who keep records of all formal complaints. The address is:
FAO: Governance Team
Royal Institute of British Architects
66 Portland Place
London, W1B 1AD
Email: complaints@riba.org
Phone: +44(0)20 7307 5355
5.13. Before we deal with your complaint, we will log it for monitoring and management information purposes.
Responses to service complaints
5.14. We will appoint someone to deal with your complaint who has an appropriate level of seniority and the expertise needed to investigate your complaint (known as the “Investigating Officer”). This is usually the line manager of the person complained about or a manager of the area to which your complaint relates. They will acknowledge your complaint and advise you when they expect to respond.
5.15. We normally respond to service complaints within twenty (20) working days of the date we receive the complaint. However, it can sometimes take longer, particularly where the issues are complex or we need to seek advice. We will let you know if the investigation of your complaint is going to take longer than the normal 20 working days and, if so, when you can expect a response. We will look at all the evidence and talk to those staff who were involved to find out what happened and why. We will then send you a response in writing letting you know how we investigated the complaint, what we found and what we propose to do. This may include explaining or apologising, and letting you know what improvements we intend to make when these are necessary.
Review
5.16. If you are dissatisfied with the response to your service complaint, you can request a review by a more senior manager. This will normally be the manager of the person who provided the response to your service complaint, but it may also be appropriate for another senior manager or a director to carry out the review. The reviewing manager will consider the response you were given, along with any relevant papers. It may be that the reviewing manager will need to make further enquiries before they can provide you with a response. You will normally be informed of the outcome of the review within 20 working days of the date you indicated that you were not satisfied with the original response. If the reviewing manager is unable to respond within 20 days, they will let you know and will give you a revised date for the response.
5.17. You will find a diagram setting out what we do at the end of this webpage.
6. Gifts and hospitality
6.1. These can range from small gifts (such as diaries) to expensive hospitality (tickets for major events, holidays etc). Hospitality or promotional expenditure which is proportionate and reasonable to demonstrating goods or services or reflecting your good relations is unlikely to qualify as a bribe. However extravagant gifts and hospitality may be used to disguise bribes that are intended to induce improper behaviour (e.g. to fix the outcome of a tendering process). Further information on gifts and hospitality can be found in the Gifts and Hospitality Policy.
7. How you can help us to help you
7.1. To handle and investigate feedback and complaints effectively, we ask for your full cooperation, so that we can fully understand any concerns and deal with the issues you have raised.
7.2. We will not tolerate abusive language or behaviour directed at our staff and will take appropriate action if we consider someone’s behaviour is unacceptable. This could involve us taking a decision not to consider your service complaint.
8. How we use your personal data
8.1. Whenever you provide us with your personal data (i.e. information about you), we shall only use that data in accordance with our privacy notice. Our privacy notice can be found at Privacy policy. Our privacy notice explains what we do with your personal data, whether we share your personal data with third parties and also the length of time which we will hold your personal data.
8.2. Please ensure that any personal data which you send to us is:
- accurate insofar as you are aware; and
- directly relevant to your complaint.
8.3. Any personal data relating to a person may be requested by that person using a subject access request under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.
9. Procedures
9.1. Internal Reporting - What staff, trustees or volunteers should do if they suspect or witness actual instances of fraud, bribery, or corruption
10. Accountability and Learning
10.1. We monitor all the feedback that we receive and in particular, the outcomes of complaints. Anonymised statistics about the number and type of service complaints received are reviewed annually by our Audit and Risk Committee with a report on business improvements put in place as a result of complaints and feedback.
10.2. Directors and managers are responsible for ensuring their teams are open to feedback and complaints and that any learning is used to improve the RIBA’s services.
11. RIBA complaints flowchart
12. Other support
For any further information an individual should contact their line manager or email governance@riba.org
Policy Owner: Director of Legal & Governance
