1 BBC FAIR TRADING COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS PROCESS This document provides guidance on how to complain if you feel the BBC has breached its Fair Trading obligations and outlines the process that will be followed. Contents INTRODUCTION 1. What is a Fair Trading complaint? 2. The Fair Trading complaints and appeals framework THE COMPLAINTS PROCESS 3. How do I make a complaint? 4. What process will be followed in considering a complaint? 5. What if I am dissatisfied with the reply? THE APPEALS PROCESS 6. Do I have grounds for an appeal? 7. How do I make an appeal? 8. What process will be followed in considering an appeal? I NTRODUCTION 1. What is a Fair Trading complaint? Since the launch of Radio Times in 1923, the BBC has engaged in commercial activities, with the explicit aim of supporting its public purposes. The principles by which the BBC undertakes commercial activity or interacts with the commercial market place are set out in the Governors’ Fair Trading Commitment. Additional detail is provided in the BBC’s Fair Trading Guidelines. These documents can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/commercial_guides/. A fair trading complaint is a complaint about the way the BBC has interacted with commercial markets or conducted its commercial activities. A complaint can be about public service activity or the activities of the BBC’s commercial subsidiaries. Typically a complaint may arise from a perceived failure to comply with the Fair Trading Commitment or Fair Trading Guidelines, which you may like to consult if you are considering a complaint. Possible grounds for making a Fair Trading complaint include any suggestion that the BBC has exploited its position as a publicly funded body to secure special advantage in commercial markets. For instance, this could include the suggestion that the BBC has used public funds (i.e. the licence fee) to subsidise commercial ventures, or that a BBC department has unduly favoured one of the BBC’s commercial subsidiaries over its competitors. 2 Please note that complaints about the editorial content of BBC programmes or other public services (such as bbc.co.uk) should be made through the Editorial Complaints Process (available at www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/). Complaints about the editorial content or standards of commercial BBC publications – such as books or magazines – should also be made via this route. 2. The Fair Trading complaints and appeals framework The new Fair Trading complaints framework was launched on 18 April 2006 and will apply to all complaints received after that date. Under the new system, BBC Management is responsible in the first instance for considering all complaints. All complaints should be addressed to, and will be handled by the Head of Fair Trading. The Head of Fair Trading is a senior member of BBC Management charged with ensuring that the BBC complies with the Fair Trading Commitment and Fair Trading Guidelines. He is charged by the Executive Board to deal with complaints in an independent and objective manner. The complaints and appeals framework also provides a formal route for appeal. If you are dissatisfied with the finding of the Head of Fair Trading you may appeal to the BBC Governors. The Governors’ main role is to ensure that the BBC remains independent of political or commercial interference and is run solely in the interests of viewers and listeners. They are separate from Management and are advised by the independent Governance Unit who report directly to them. Individual appeals are administered by the Head of Compliance and Value for Money, a member of the Governance Unit. The roles of the separate bodies are shown below. An Annex to this document also provides a summary of the overall complaints and appeals process. The Government has proposed a new system of governance for the BBC over the next Charter period, which starts on 1 January 2007. This includes a new fair trading framework. The process outlined in this document relates to the current framework only, although Governors hope that it will provide a useful basis for any future process that the BBC Trust deems necessary. MANAGEMENT Head of Fair Trading GOVERNORS Head of Compliance and Value for Money COMPLAINT Complaints Appeals 3 THE COMPLAINTS PROCESS 3. How do I make a complaint? If you wish to make a complaint, this should be made in writing to: The Head of Fair Trading BBC Media Centre MC3 C4 201 Wood Lane London W12 7TQ To assist the investigation of your complaint, it would be helpful if you could include the following detail: · Full details of your complaint and any supporting documentation · Reference to relevant sections of BBC’s Fair Trading Commitment or Guidelines, which you think may have been breached · Your contact details 4. What process will be followed in considering a complaint? The Head of Fair Trading will acknowledge your complaint within ten working days of receipt. The acknowledgment will also explain the process to be followed. At this stage the Head of Fair Trading may ask you to supply further information before he can fully investigate the issue. If you feel that you have information which is confidential, please contact the Head of Fair Trading in the first instance to discuss. By agreement, the Head of Fair Trading will not disclose confidential information that you supply to other members of BBC Management. If your complaint relates primarily to issues of competition law or State Aid it may also be made directly to the relevant external authorities. The Office of Fair Trading1 or Ofcom2 are the relevant competition authorities in the UK whilst the European Commission3 is the appropriate authority to hear complaints relating to State Aid. Once the Head of Fair Trading has received any additional information requested from you, he will complete his investigation of your complaint and respond to you within a further thirty working days. If for any reason this timescale cannot be met, you will be informed of the reason for delay and how long the investigation will take. Following his investigation the Head of Fair Trading will outline his findings to you: 1 See www.oft.gov.uk 2 See www.ofcom.org.uk 3 See europa.eu.int 4 · If your complaint is upheld, the Head of Fair Trading will instruct the division concerned to remedy any breaches and ensure that they are not repeated. · If your complaint has not been upheld, the reasoning for this decision will be clearly explained. The conclusions reached and actions taken in respect of fair trading complaints considered by Management will be published in the fair trading complaints bulletin, which can be found at: www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/fairtrading_complaints/. 5. What if I am dissatisfied with the reply? If you are not satisfied with the Head of Fair Trading’s conclusions or his investigation, you can appeal to the BBC Governors. You have two months after the BBC’s final response in which to appeal. THE APPEALS PROCESS 6. Do I have grounds for an appeal? The Governors will consider any appeal that meets the following criteria: · The complaint relates to an alleged breach of the Fair Trading Commitment or Fair Trading Guidelines by the BBC. · The complaint has been considered through the full complaints process outlined above. 7. How do I make an appeal? Appeals should be addressed in writing to: The Head of Compliance and Value for Money BBC Governance Unit Room 211 35 Marylebone High Street London W1U 4AA When making an appeal, you should include the following information: · A summary of your original complaint, including details of how the BBC has allegedly breached the Fair Trading Commitment or Fair Trading Guidelines. · Copies of any relevant correspondence with the BBC. 5 · The reasons why you are dissatisfied with the original complaints decision(s). 8. What process will be followed in considering an appeal? The BBC Board of Governors is supported by the Governance Unit, which provides independent and objective advice to Governors. Members of the Governance Unit are outside of the BBC management chain and report directly to the Board. Upon receipt of your appeal, the Head of Compliance and Value for Money (a senior member of the Governance Unit) will make an assessment of your case against the grounds for appeal, and respond to you within ten working days. The Governors are not are not able to consider appeals in relation to alleged breaches of competition law. In such cases you will be informed of relevant external authorities who may be better suited to deal with the allegation and to whom you may complain. A complaint may also be referred back to Management if it is felt that they have not had an appropriate opportunity to respond to the original complaint, for instance if there is significant new material in your appeal not in the original complaint. Vexatious or trivial appeals may also be rejected. If your complaint does not meet the criteria, the reason(s) for this will be explained to you. If your appeal does meet the criteria, the process for considering your case will be outlined. Additional information may also be requested from you at this stage, and you will usually be asked to respond within fifteen working days. Having received any additional information, the Head of Compliance and Value for Money will collate all the necessary material and begin an investigation of your appeal. Both you and BBC Management will be treated as separate parties to the appeal. During the investigation, additional information or advice may be requested or commissioned, either from you, BBC Management, or from external advisers. While the Governors will have access to some material considered by BBC Management in reaching their decision, they do not need to rely on it, and any external advisers or legal advisers who have previously been involved in your case would not be recommissioned. Where appropriate, the Governance Unit will share certain material (or a summary of it) that it receives, including any further investigation or advice, with both parties. It will not however share anything of a commercially sensitive nature without prior discussion. Where the Governance Unit does share information in this way, you will usually be given an opportunity to comment on this material, and asked to respond within ten working days. Obviously in such circumstances the normal timetable for considering your appeal will be extended by an equivalent amount. 6 Your appeal will be considered by the Fair Trading Compliance Committee (FTCC), a sub-committee of the BBC Board of Governors4. The Head of Compliance and Value for Money will present the evidence from his investigation to the FTCC. The FTCC will aim to meet within 30 working days of the investigation opening, although this may take longer depending on the timing of meetings and responses from parties. The FTCC will then make its decision based on the material presented before it. In exceptional cases, and where there are significant disputed facts which cannot be satisfactorily addressed by the process of investigation, the FTCC may call for oral evidence. In this event more time will be allowed for the appeal and you will be informed at least twenty working days in advance about the hearing and its format. Following the meeting the Chairman of the FTCC will write to you outlining the decision of the Committee and explaining the reasoning: · If your appeal is upheld, actions will be prescribed by the Governors to address the situation or to guard against such a breach re-occurring. The potential sanctions available to Governors include: o Governors, or Management instructed by Governors, will apologise to you in writing. In severe cases a public statement acknowledging fault could be issued. o Governors can instruct Management to cease, or alter, certain activities, or to amend guidelines, to prevent a recurrence of the breach. o Governors can refer concerns about the conduct of specific staff to the Director General of the BBC, who would be asked to consider investigation and potential disciplinary proceedings against such individuals, in accordance with usual procedures and following normal employment law. · If your appeal is not upheld, a full explanation for the decision will be provided. · Exceptionally, the FTCC may defer an appeal and request further analysis if it feels there is insufficient evidence to make a judgement. Details of all appeals and findings (excluding internal disciplinary matters) are published on the Governors’ website. Given the commercial sensitivity of some Fair Trading appeals, full disclosure of information may not always be appropriate, and you will be consulted if this may be relevant in your case. 4 For a full account of the Fair Trading and Compliance Committee’s role and responsibilities please see its Terms of Reference, available on bbcgovernors.co.uk. 7 The FTCC is the final stage of the BBC’s Fair Trading complaints process. 8 Annex: BBC Fair Trading complaints and appeals process Complaint Head of Compliance and Value for Money assesses grounds for Appeal Appeal considered by Governors’ Fair Trading Compliance Committee Sent to BBC Management (Head of BBC Fair Trading) Ends Appeal to Governors Complaint upheld Complaint rejected Actions prescribed APPEALS (GOVERNORS) COMPLAINTS (MANAGEMENT) Alleged breach of competition law – complainant informed of alternative authorities Complaint acknowledged Working days 10 Complaint investigated Working days 30 Decision Response to Complaint Satisfied Not satisfied Working days 10 Working days 30 (excluding any potential time for parties to comment on material) Appeal investigated Proceed with Appeal Ends Appeal upheld Actions prescribed Decision Response to Complaint Appeal rejected