Decode & Grow Ltd · Complaints procedure
If something has gone wrong, say so here.
This page sets out how to raise a complaint with Decode & Grow, who reads it, how long each stage takes, and where to go if the answer is not good enough. It covers complaints about services, invoices, conduct, and the handling of personal data.
What counts as a complaint
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction that calls for a response. It does not need to use the word "complaint", follow a set format, or arrive through this page. If it reaches anyone at Decode & Grow by email, post, phone, a call, or a social media message, it is treated the same way.
- The quality, scope or timing of work delivered
- An invoice, a charge or a refund
- How someone at Decode & Grow, or a contractor acting for it, behaved
- Marketing received from Decode & Grow
- How personal data has been collected, used, shared or protected
Raising a complaint does not affect the service a client receives, and no one is treated less favourably for making one.
How to raise one
By email
complaints@decodengrow.comA dedicated complaints inbox. An acknowledgement of receipt is sent within 24 hours, and Decode & Grow aims to respond in full within 10 working days.
By post
Complaints, Decode & Grow Ltd13 Branwen Close, Cardiff CF5 4NE
Timescales run from the day the letter is received.
What helps the complaint move quickly
- Name, organisation and the best way to reply
- The project, invoice number or service the complaint relates to
- What happened and when, in as much detail as is available
- Copies of any relevant emails, documents or screenshots
- The outcome being asked for
None of this is compulsory. A complaint with missing details is still logged and acknowledged, and the missing details are requested afterwards.
Anyone who needs to complain in a different way, for example by phone or with someone acting on their behalf, can say so in a first message and arrangements are made around that.
What happens next
- 01
Acknowledgement
Within 24 hours the complaint is logged and a written acknowledgement is sent. It names the person handling it and gives a date for the full response.
- 02
Investigation
A director reviews the project records, correspondence and deliverables, and speaks to everyone involved. Further information may be requested from the person who complained.
- 03
Written response
Decode & Grow aims to respond in full within 10 working days of acknowledgement. The written response sets out what was found, whether the complaint is upheld, and what will be done about it.
- 04
Review
If the response does not resolve things, a review can be requested within 20 working days. The outcome of the review is sent within a further 10 working days and is the final position.
If an investigation needs longer than the stated time, for example because a third-party supplier has to be consulted, the person who complained is told before the deadline, given the reason, and given a new date.
Possible outcomes
Where a complaint is upheld in whole or in part, the response says so plainly and proposes a remedy that fits what went wrong. Depending on the case, that may include:
- An explanation and an apology
- Correcting or redoing the work at no additional cost
- A corrected invoice, credit or refund
- A change to how the project or account is run from that point
- A change to an internal process, with confirmation once it has been made
Where a complaint is not upheld, the response explains the reasons and the evidence relied on.
Complaints about personal data
ICO registration ZC120811
Anyone who believes Decode & Grow has handled their personal data in a way that breaches UK data protection law has a legal right to complain directly, under section 164A of the Data Protection Act 2018. This includes concerns about a subject access request, marketing consent, data security, or how long data has been kept.
These complaints follow the same procedure and the same timescales as every other complaint. The law requires acknowledgement within 30 days; Decode & Grow acknowledges within 24 hours, investigates without undue delay, and confirms the outcome in writing.
If the outcome is not satisfactory, or no response arrives, the complaint can be taken to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's independent data protection regulator. The ICO generally expects the organisation to have been given the chance to respond first.
More detail on how personal data is used is in the Privacy Policy.
If it is still not resolved
Decode & Grow provides services to businesses and is not covered by a statutory ombudsman scheme. If a complaint about services or charges remains unresolved after the review stage, Decode & Grow will consider any reasonable request to use independent mediation before either side takes formal action.
This procedure sits alongside the signed agreement for each engagement and does not replace it. Nothing on this page limits any legal rights a client or individual has.
What is recorded, and why
Every complaint is entered in a complaints log with the date received, a summary, the steps taken, the outcome and the date closed. The log is reviewed by the directors to find the cause, and where a process failed, the process is changed and documented.
Complaint details are shared only with the people needed to investigate and respond. Records are kept for 6 years after a complaint is closed and then securely deleted.