First Steps on Receipt of a Complaint

SEEK LEGAL ADVICE:
First port of call should be your insurance company through whom legal advice should be available.

GATHER EVIDENCE: Retain notes and records, even recordings of the event which has triggered the complaint.  Make copies and be careful who you give orignals to. Hold on to it all until legal advice is obtained.

MAKE NOTES: Keep a record of contemporaneous notes ( a diary if you like) of what happened, what takes place subsequently and the order in which things happen/happened. Contemporaneous notes will be  likely be useful if considerable time elapses, to use in evidence rather than relying on memory. DO NOT put opinions or private thoughts in these notes-they may be read by others if used in evidence. 

OBTAIN WITNESS DETAILS: Make a record of  anybody who may be relevant to your case, speak to them if possible and ask if they are willing to help or support your case. This might include agency managers, witnesses to anything taking place in public, writers of referrals etc. Pass details to legal advisor.

LEGAL ADVICE remains the most imortant thing at this stage.  This advice section clearly holds no legal weight and is the result of experience of others who have been in in your position, whether you follow this or not is, obviously, a matter for you but we hope it may help.