Decision Report 201800910

  • Case ref:
    201800910
  • Date:
    November 2018
  • Body:
    University of Glasgow
  • Sector:
    Universities
  • Outcome:
    Upheld, recommendations
  • Subject:
    complaints handling

Summary

Ms C complained that the university had failed to respond to her complaint within a reasonable timeframe. Ms C submitted her complaint to the university but had not received a response by the time she contacted us ten months later.

We found that the university had appropriately handled the complaint at Stage 1 of their complaints process and had also kept Ms C reasonably informed of the progress of her complaint at Stage 2 of the process. However, we considered that it was unacceptable for Ms C to have still not received a response to her complaint ten months later and the university had been unable to provide an indication of when a response might be ready. Therefore, we upheld Ms C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

  • Respond to Ms C's complaint.

In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:

  • The university should ensure that they have the most efficient system for processing complaints, to minimise unreasonable delays in the face of limited resources.

Updated: December 2, 2018