Complaints
How to complain, what we will do about it, and who to go to if we get it wrong.
Last updated 29 July 2026
How to complain
Use the contact form and start your message with “complaint”. That takes it out of the ordinary enquiry queue.
Tell us what happened, when, who was involved if you know, and what you would like us to do. If you do not know what you want us to do, say that — working it out is part of our job.
Complaining is free, it will not affect any help you receive from us, and it will not affect an application you have with us. If you are worried that it might, say so in your message and we will make sure the people handling your application are not the people handling your complaint.
Some things are not complaints and should go elsewhere, faster:
- Somebody is at risk — see safeguarding, or call 112 if it is immediate.
- Your donation went wrong — see donations and refunds; we fix those without needing a complaint.
- Your personal data — see privacy, which has its own 30-day route.
What we do with it
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Within 2 working days | We acknowledge it and tell you who is handling it. |
| Within 20 working days | We give you a full response: what we found, what we are doing, and why. |
| If it will take longer | We tell you before the 20 days are up, why, and when to expect an answer. We do not simply go quiet. |
A complaint is never investigated by the person it is about. If it concerns someone senior, it goes to the trustees.
What you can expect
An honest answer, which may be any of:
- We got it wrong. An apology that is actually an apology, what we are changing, and by when.
- We got it right but explained it badly. A proper explanation, and an acknowledgement that the first one failed.
- We disagree. Our reasons, plainly, and where to take it next.
What you will not get is a response that avoids saying which of those it is.
If we do not put it right
You do not have to accept our answer. Depending on what it is about:
- Personal data — the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
- Our conduct as a registered organisation — the Corporate Affairs Commission.
- Clinical care — the relevant professional regulator for the clinician involved.
- Anything criminal — the police. You do not need to come to us first, and we would not expect you to.
We will tell you which of these applies to your complaint, and how to reach them, as part of our response. A charity that makes you find the regulator yourself is hoping you will not bother.
Anonymous complaints
You can complain without giving your name. We will look into it as far as we can, which is usually less far — we cannot come back for detail, and we cannot tell you what happened.
If you are staying anonymous because you fear consequences, please say so even without your name. It tells us something about the situation that we need to know.
What we do with what we learn
We record every complaint, what caused it and what changed. The trustees review them.
Most complaints are about a process that was unclear, a message that never arrived, or a decision that was never explained. Those are all fixable, and a complaint is usually the cheapest information a charity ever gets.
Questions about this page
Write to us through the contact form or at info@cheermedics.org. We answer every message about privacy, safeguarding or a complaint — those are not marketing enquiries and they are not treated as such.
