大象传媒

The 大象传媒's complaints system will be faster, simpler and easier to understand, following a review led by the 大象传媒 Trust.

The changes announced today follow a review of 大象传媒 governance processes instigated by Trust Chairman Lord Patten, which identified ways that the current complaints system could be improved.

The Trust carried out a public consultation and audience research earlier this year on changes proposed by the 大象传媒 Executive, which found broad support from licence fee payers.

The changes, which will come into effect from 26 June 2012, include:

• Ensuring that recording of complaints is improved, by encouraging complainants to use a central address, phone number and website link. In response to feedback from the public consultation, complaints received by other parts of the 大象传媒 will be forwarded on to this central point;
• Speeding up the complaints process for multiple complaints about the same subject, by handling them together and providing a single response to all complainants;
• Focusing resource on dealing with substantive complaints by ending correspondence on trivial or vexatious ones, although these complainants would still have the right to appeal to the Trust;
• Making the complaints system clearer for licence fee payers by clarifying how it will work at each stage; and
• Bringing the time limit for complaints about website content into line with the 30-day rule that applies to broadcast content, although there will be a right of appeal to the Trust. The Trust has also decided that there will be no time limit for complaints from individuals who are the subject of online content, such as news stories.

In response to concerns raised in the public consultation about complaints on specific subjects being disallowed if they are considered vexatious, the Trust has asked the 大象传媒 Executive to provide regular reports on the number and subject of complaints that this procedure is applied to; these figures will be published in the Trust's regular Complaints and Appeals Bulletin, and the Trust will also be able to intervene if there are concerns that the process is not being used appropriately.

Richard Ayre, chair of the Trust's Complaints and Appeals Board, said:

"We have agreed improvements to the complaints system to speed it up, simplify it, and focus resources where they are genuinely needed. If the 大象传媒 gets something wrong, these changes should ensure complaints get more quickly to the people best placed to deal with them. And, if the 大象传媒 sometimes gets things badly wrong, it should deliver a remedy that's timely and unambiguous."

The changes to the complaints system will come into force from 26 June. As announced in March this year, the 大象传媒 Executive will also launch a new 'corrections and clarifications' page on the 大象传媒 website, along with a guide explaining where people should go to complain.

An independent 'mystery shopping' exercise will be carried out in 2013 to test the effectiveness of the new systems.

The Trust's conclusions, results of the public consultation and the audience research can all be found here:

Complaints framework review

Notes to editors

1. The review of the 大象传媒's complaints process was announced as part of Lord Patten's review of the 大象传媒's governance processes in July 2011. The 大象传媒 Executive and the 大象传媒 Trust worked together to identify potential ways to streamline the process at all three stages within the confines of the current Royal Charter. More information on the governance review can be found here.

2. The complaints process

All complaints about the 大象传媒 must first be dealt with by the 大象传媒 Executive (stage 1). Complainants who are still unhappy at the end of stage 1 may be able to complain to senior 大象传媒 management to have their complaint looked at in more detail at a second stage (stage 2). The 大象传媒 has set up a special unit called the Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) to investigate editorial complaints at stage 2. It is not in a programme making division of the 大象传媒 and is independent of programme makers.

The 大象传媒 Trust is the final arbiter in the 大象传媒 for complaints. The Trust is the sovereign body of the 大象传媒. It takes appropriate complaints on appeal. For editorial and general complaints this is known as stage 3. Complaints about the Trust go straight to the Trust to reply to and do not go through 大象传媒 management.

Findings by the Trust and upheld findings by the ECU are normally published (but not, for example, if it will breach a complainant's privacy or commercial confidence). An on-air correction or apology may be required by the Trust or ECU in serious cases. The Trust will apologise to the complainant if the complaint is upheld, as will the ECU. A similar process applies for non-editorial complaints (including fair trading and TV licensing), which must first be considered by the Executive, followed by a right of appeal to the Trust.

3. The 大象传媒 Trust along with six other media regulators set up ParentPort in October 2011 to make it easier for parents to complain about material they see or hear across the media, communications and retail industries. Find out more by visiting