Clothes Aid is committed to maintaining high standards across all aspects of our work.

The work we do for our partner charities by generating income from collecting used clothing and goods means that tens of thousands of charity beneficiaries, children, young people and adults are supported every year.

To keep costs as low as possible we have a small head office team supporting a substantial network. Due to the scale of our activities, we recognise that, despite our best efforts, processes and training, there is always the possibility that we may, on occasion, fail to meet the high standards that we set for our collections.

What to do if you have a complaint

We view legitimate complaints positively as they are one of the ways we have to make sure we keep improving our customer service standards and the quality of everything that we do.

If there is anything which you feel you need to complain, please tell us as soon as possible and we can start to resolve it for you and take action to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

How to contact us

Often the easiest way for you to register a complaint, and for us to resolve it, is by phone. Please call 020 7288 8545 Monday to Friday between 9am – 5pm.

You can email us info@clothesaid.co.uk

You can also write to us:

Helpline Supervisor
Clothes Aid Enterprises,
Unit 2 York House,
Fort Street Industrial Estate
Blackburn, BB1 5DP

We also have a contact form on our website.

What we will do on receiving your complaint

  • Listen, record and advise you how it will be handled.
  • Investigate whenever necessary.
  • Take action to resolve the problem and tell you what that action is.
  • Take steps to avoid a repeat.
  • We will treat you with understanding, courtesy and respect. All we ask is that you do the same for our staff.

We would appreciate your understanding that, with limited resources, we cannot always respond to your complaint immediately, although we will whenever we can.

You will receive an initial acknowledgement or response within two working days of receipt of your complaint and we expect to resolve most problems in that time.

Where a more in-depth investigation is required we aim to provide a full response within 20 working days. If there are exceptional circumstances, where that is not possible, we will advise you.

What constitutes a legitimate complaint?

We regard a legitimate complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction with the aspects of our work which is under our control. Uncollected bags are not classed as a complaint but an operational matter as they most often occur because the bags are not in clear sight of the road. We have a system for making appointments to pick up missed bags.

Our collections are undertaken under contract to our charity partners. It is important to be aware, therefore, that every incident that is not classed as minor (e.g. uncollected bags, general enquiries, etc) requires a report to be made to the charity.

What if our response does not satisfy you?

If your complaint relates to fundraising, and we are unable to resolve it to your satisfaction, you can refer it to the Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising to which Clothes Aid is registered. They can be contacted via their website (www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk) or at 2nd floor, CAN Mezzanine Building, 49-51 East Road, London, N1 6AH. Tel: 0300 999 3407

You can also contact the Charity Commission via their website (www.charitycommission.gov.uk).

Your personal information

If you use our complaints procedure, you are agreeing that we can use any personal information you send us for purposes connected with your complaint. We will only give your personal information to other people and organisations if you have given us permission to do so. If you are able to give this permission when you contact us with details of your complaint, this can help us to start the investigation quickly.

Last updated: May 2018.