Consumer Advice: Complaints
Complaints about a member
The Gardeners Guild is a national trade network for qualified gardeners. Membership is primarily for the benefit of the member. We give our members access to practical support that will help them grow their business.
The Gardeners Guild is not a consumer organisation or vetting scheme but we are committed to pursue the interests of our members and the consumer through ongoing refining of our members.
While members of The Gardeners Guild must meet certain criteria to join, membership in itself does not offer any guarantee on their work.
Even the most qualified and experienced gardeners can make mistakes.
If you have a complaint against one of our members please contact the member direct and give them a chance to resolve matters themselves.
If your complaint cannot be resolved with the member, please also tell us about your complaint by sending an email to enquiries@thegardenersguild.co.uk.
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days.
The member will be told about your complaint and will be offered a copy of your complaint which may include other information you have sent us such as your contact details. The member will be given the opportunity to explain to us their view of events and circumstances.
Details of your complaint will be kept in accord with data protection laws and reviewed at least annually and before membership is renewed.
Although we cannot accept any liability for the quality of work carried out by our members if necessary we will, at our discretion and in proven instances, cancel membership for deliberate illegal trading, unfair trading or conduct likely to damage the reputation of The Gardeners Guild or its members. This is an internal decision by The Gardeners Guild.
The Gardeners Guild does not offer a disputes resolution service. We are not responsible for paying compensation or making a financial award.
If a dispute cannot be resolved directly with the member, you can of course consider court action. The Small Claims Mediation Service deals with monetary claims under £10,000 that are already going through the courts. If both parties agree to using mediation, they will be contacted by the service. As most cases are dealt with by telephone, they save the time and the expense of having to go to court. This service is not free and they do charge for this service.
Complaints about our services
Any complaints will be dealt with promptly, effectively and courteously, in accordance with good business practice. A person will be nominated to take overall responsibility for the management of customer complaints.
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days.
If it is not possible to resolve a complaint within one month of receipt, you will be given an email explanation detailing why the complaint has not been resolved and what steps are being taken. If we believe that a complaint is unjustified this may take the form of a full written explanation from our perspective.
Where it has not been possible to resolve a complaint, we will provide you with the contact details of your local Trading Standards office.
If a dispute cannot be resolved directly, you can of course consider court action. The Small Claims Mediation Service deals with monetary claims under £10,000 that are already going through the courts. If both parties agree to using mediation, they will be contacted by the service. As most cases are dealt with by telephone, they save the time and the expense of having to go to court. This service is not free and they do charge for this service.
We will co-operate with the Trading Standards authority or any other formal intermediary consulted by you in an attempt to resolve any complaint.
Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have taken on responsibilities and resources from the Office for Fair Trading (OFT) and Consumer Focus by offering free and independent advice. Starting 2 April 2012, a new advice line succeeding Consumer Direct was launched by the Citizens Advice service.
If you require general consumer advice you are advised to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133 or visit their website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk.