At STAR, we want our services to be as easy to use as possible.
We understand that some people may need extra help when contacting us, making a complaint, responding to a complaint, or using our dispute resolution service. This may be because of a disability, health condition, communication need, language difficulty, age, personal circumstances or another reason.
We will always try to treat people fairly and make reasonable adjustments where we can.
What this policy is for
This policy explains how we will support people who may need extra help to use our services.
It applies to people who contact STAR, including ticket buyers, complainants, STAR members and anyone helping someone else with their enquiry or complaint.
Our approach
We will try to make sure that:
- people can contact us and use our services without being put at a disadvantage
- we communicate clearly and in a way that people can understand
- we consider individual needs, because not everyone needs the same support
- we make reasonable adjustments where we can
- we explain our reasons if we cannot make a particular adjustment
We will not make assumptions about what someone needs. Where appropriate, we may ask what would help them to use our service.
How we can help
We may be able to make adjustments such as:
- communicating by email, phone or post, depending on what is most suitable
- providing information in a clearer or simpler format
- giving extra time to provide information, comments or documents, where this is reasonable
- allowing someone else to communicate with us on a person's behalf, with their permission
- helping someone understand the steps in our process
- explaining what information we need from them
- taking account of communication needs when handling a dispute
- giving important updates by phone, email or post, depending on what works best for the person
- sending documents by post where someone cannot access them online or by email
- taking comments by phone where someone finds it difficult to put them in writing
- reading back or sending back any comments we have noted, so the person can check they are accurate
We will consider each request individually.
Asking for an adjustment
If you need an adjustment, please tell us as early as possible. You do not need to use any special wording. You can simply tell us what would help.
You do not usually need to provide medical evidence. We may ask for more information if we need it to understand what support would help or whether a particular adjustment would be reasonable.
Contacting us
Most people contact us through our website or by email. If that is difficult, you can contact us in another way.
You can contact STAR by:
Email: info@star.org.uk
Phone: 01904 234737
Post: STAR, Blake House, 18 Blake Street, York YO1 8QG
If you have difficulty using our website, downloading a document or completing an online form, please contact us. We will consider what support we can provide.
Help from someone else
You can ask someone else to help you deal with STAR. This might be a family member, friend, carer, support worker, adviser or representative.
Before we discuss your complaint or personal information with another person, we will usually need your permission.
Information and documents
We will try to make our information as clear as possible.
If you find a document, form or email difficult to understand, please tell us. We will consider whether we can provide the information in a different or simpler format.
If you cannot access information online or by email, we may be able to send documents by post.
There may be practical limits where documents are very large, complex or include evidence provided by another party. If this applies, we will explain what we can do.
Our dispute resolution process
STAR's dispute resolution process is normally handled in writing. This helps us keep a clear record of the complaint, the evidence provided by each side and the outcome.
If this causes difficulty for you, please tell us. We will consider whether we can adjust the process in a reasonable way.
For example, we may be able to take comments by phone where someone finds it difficult to put them in writing. If we do this, we will read the comments back or send them back, so the person can check they are accurate before they are treated as their comments.
We may also allow extra time to respond to information or evidence where this is reasonable.
STAR must remain impartial. This means we can explain our process and what information we need, but we cannot give legal advice, act for one side, or interpret one party's evidence for the other.
What STAR can and cannot explain
We can explain:
- how our process works
- what stage a complaint has reached
- what information we need
- what deadlines apply
- what STAR can and cannot do
We cannot:
- give legal advice
- tell someone how to argue their case
- act for one side in a dispute
- interpret one party's evidence for the other
- advise whether someone should accept or reject a proposal
- change the outcome of a complaint because someone disagrees with it
Our website
We want our website to be accessible and easy to use. We will keep this under review and will look for ways to improve it.
If you have difficulty using our website, downloading a document or completing an online form, please contact us. We will consider what support we can provide.
How we record your needs
If you tell us about a support need or ask for a reasonable adjustment, we may record this so that we can understand your needs and respond appropriately.
We will only record information that is relevant to your enquiry, complaint or request for support. This may include information about a disability, health condition, communication need or other personal circumstance where it is relevant to the support you have asked for.
We will handle personal information in line with data protection law.
More information about how STAR collects, uses and protects personal information is set out in STAR's Privacy Notice.
What we may not be able to do
We will always try to be flexible and considerate, but there may be some things we cannot do.
For example, we may not be able to:
- act outside STAR's role or powers
- deal with a complaint that falls outside our dispute resolution procedure
- give legal advice
- act for one side in a dispute
- make an adjustment that would be unfair to another party
- make an adjustment that would prevent us from handling a complaint properly
- make an adjustment that would place an unreasonable burden on STAR
If we cannot make the adjustment you ask for, we will explain why.
Related policies
This policy should be read alongside STAR's:
Feedback
We welcome feedback about how accessible our services are.
If you think we could improve the way we communicate or support people using our services, please contact us at info@star.org.uk.
