Comments and complaints

We value your opinion

We hope to make your experience of dealing with the British Council an excellent one and we welcome your comments, suggestions and details of satisfaction or dissatisfaction about the service you have experienced when contacting us or using any of our products or services. We would also like to hear if a particular member of staff has provided you with exceptional service.

What we will do

All customers are dealt with seriously and impartially and are responded to promptly – regardless of the subject matter, medium or the country in which the complaint has been made. We will draw on information received from your customer comments and complaints to improve our services and products.

How to make a comment or complaint in the UK

In the first instance, contact the person, department or office that you have already dealt with to fully explain your views or situation and ask for a response or assistance.

If you don't manage to resolve your problem, you can contact our Customer Services team by post or phone. Alternatively, you can e-mail us at commentsandcomplaints@britishcouncil.org or use our online feedback form. So that we can respond to you, please provide your name, postal address and/or e-mail address and/or telephone number.

How to make a comment or complaint outside the UK

Contact the British Council Customer Service team in your local office.

Standards

We aim to acknowledge your comment or complaint within three working days. We aim to reply fully to your complaint within ten working days. Complaints that are more complex may take longer to deal with. In these cases we will keep you updated on the progress of your complaint.

Who will deal with your comment or complaint?

We aim to resolve most issues at the first point of contact. The first member of staff who receives a communication from a customer is empowered to ‘own’ the comment or complaint and see it through to resolution, although he or she may have to liaise with other colleagues to gather the necessary information to respond effectively to the customer.

In more complex cases customers may receive the response to their comment or complaint from the person or department who is responsible for that aspect of our work.

In the infrequent cases where a customer’s comment or complaint is of a serious nature, the complaint may be referred to the British Council’s Complaints Manager.