Keeping an existing customer complaint moving during closure
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Hand over an existing complaint as a continuing case. Preserve what the customer raised, what the business has already said and which action is due next. A premises closure should not force the customer or the new contact to reconstruct the conversation from the beginning.
Keep decisions about entitlement, settlement, liability or remedies with the authorised people and appropriate advisers. This guide concerns the handover of evidence and responsibility, not the outcome of the complaint.
Write a note the next contact can use
A useful handover note separates four things:
- Agreed facts: points both sides have confirmed, with the supporting reference.
- Contested or unverified facts: each party’s position and the evidence still needed.
- Actions already promised: what the business said it would do, by whom and when.
- Next decision: the person with authority, the missing information and the next customer contact.
Add the complaint reference and controlled evidence location. Do not copy every email into the note; show the reader where the relevant messages can be found. Keep the original history intact.
For a fictional example, a customer reports missing parts and the business has promised to check a despatch record. The new aftercare contact should see that promise and whether the check happened. A fresh acknowledgement saying “we will investigate” would add little if it simply restarts the same unanswered task.
Separate receipt from a substantive answer
Confirm who will monitor the contact route and what they can actually decide. An automatic email acknowledgement can establish that a message arrived, but it does not resolve a complaint or fulfil a promised investigation.
Use the order evidence retrieval test to check that the new contact can obtain the necessary records. If access is missing, assign that gap before the current system owner leaves.
Where the case concerns a claimed warranty, the warranty enquiry sheet helps identify what was promised and by whom. Do not let a label such as “manufacturer issue” replace a proper review of the customer’s actual complaint.
Keep the goods connected to the case
If the business holds the customer’s item, use the custody and contact record. Record its location and the unresolved decision. Do not move the goods into a disposal allocation merely because the trading department has stopped operating.
Tell the customer about a confirmed contact change through the appropriate route. Use realistic, approved wording about the next response; avoid promising a result before the authorised person has reviewed the facts.
When discussing stock and contents with UK Auction Group, identify any goods excluded because of an unresolved customer case. Keep the detailed complaint within the business’s controlled process. The sale contact needs a clear exclusion or release instruction, not responsibility for settling the trading dispute.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.