Make a complaint
We welcome feedback – it helps us to develop as a charity, giving us the chance to monitor and improve our services. We set ourselves a high standard of customer care and if this is not met, we want to hear about it.
If you’ve had direct contact with the RSPCA and you intend to make your complaint within three months of the issue occurring, find out how to submit a complaint below. We apologise for causing you to find yourself here, but are eager to learn from your response.
For information on how we process your data please see our Privacy Notice.
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How to submit a complaint
Online form
You can submit a complaint using our online form – you’ll need to provide:
- Full name
- Postal address
- Email address
- A summary of the complaint, including relevant dates
By post
Alternatively, you can write to:
National Complaints Coordinator, RSPCA, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, RH12 1GY
What happens next
We’ll acknowledge your complaint within five working days and within a further 17 working days* will either reply in full or – for complex matters that require greater investigation – let you know how much longer it will take and why.
How to submit a fundraising complaint
For all fundraising complaints, please visit our fundraising compliance page.
*Standard complaint time frames do not apply to complaints about fundraising.
Reporting cruelty or neglect?
If you’re worried about the welfare of an animal, tell us about it by Reporting a concern and we’ll guide you to the best and quickest way of getting them the help they need.
Frequently asked questions
Learn more about our complaints process with these frequently asked questions below:
Before submitting a complaint
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The procedure is for complaints about our services from the public, RSPCA staff, volunteers and those with RSPCA Membership. Data protection legislation means we can only process complaints that come from people who have had direct contact with the RSPCA – we can’t help if you’re complaining on behalf of a family member, friend, or someone else, unless you have Power of Attorney.
The complaints procedure isn’t for individual animal welfare concerns or other general animal welfare matters (such as farm animal transport or slaughter). Find out how to report cruelty or an animal in distress
Comments and questions about general matters can be sent by post to RSPCA, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1GY – or you can contact us online. -
Complaints will only be considered if they’re received within three months of an event occurring. Anything older than this won’t be acknowledged.
If you’re unhappy with the reply to your complaint and wish to escalate it to the next level, this needs to be done within 15 working days of the date of our reply.* We won’t consider complaints outside this timescale.
*These time frames do not apply to complaints about fundraising. Find the fundraising complaints process on our Fundraising Compliance page. -
Complaints will be acknowledged within five working days, then replied to in full within a further 17 working days.* However, if the matter is complex and requires greater investigation it may take longer. If so, we’ll contact you again to let you know and advise how much longer it will take and why.
*These time frames do not apply to complaints about fundraising. Find the fundraising complaints process on our Fundraising Compliance page. -
There’s a character limit on our website's complaints form, however once we’ve responded acknowledging your complaint, you’ll then be able to provide further information if necessary and attach supporting documents/photos.
How do you deal with complaints?
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There are three stages:
- Level 1: New complaints will be formally recorded and acknowledged (within five working days). They’ll be passed to the relevant line manager of the individual or the department concerned, who’ll look into your complaint and reply within 17 working days of the date we acknowledged your complaint. If this isn’t possible, they’ll let you know why, and how much longer it will take.
- Level 2: If you remain dissatisfied with the reply you receive at Level 1 and you let us know within 15 working days of the date of our reply, your complaint will be passed to the relevant head of department for further review. To ensure we save our resources for vital work on animal welfare, we won’t acknowledge receipt of your letter/email but will aim to reply to you in full within 17 working days. If the head of department isn’t able to do this, they’ll let you know the date by which they hope to reply.
- Level 3: If you remain dissatisfied with the reply at Level 2 and you let us know within 15 working days of the date of our reply, your complaint will be referred to the relevant assistant director, director or the Chief Executive to review it and reply. To ensure we save our resources for vital work on animal welfare, they won’t acknowledge receipt of your letter/email but will aim to reply to you in full within 17 working days. If the assistant director, director or Chief Executive isn’t able to do this, they’ll let you know the date by which they hope to reply.
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If you're dissatisfied with a Level 3 reply, but your complaint is not about Inspectorate or Prosecutions, you’ll have reached the end of our national complaints procedure. We won’t be able to take the matter further.
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We appreciate honest feedback – it helps us to learn and develop as a charity. We investigate all complaints thoroughly and fairly, without bias. A full explanation and an apology (when appropriate) will be included in our reply.
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To investigate a complaint about one of our branches fully, we’ll need to share your details and the complaint itself with the branch concerned. If you don’t wish us to share with the branch, please tell us in your complaint.
We have comprehensive data protection policies. Any personal information provided won’t be given to any other organisation. We take all reasonable steps to ensure your data is kept secure and to respect your information privacy. The Society uses up-to-date security technology and procedures. -
We internally analyse information on complaints regularly, as this helps us see where our services need to improve. A general synopsis may be included in our Trustees' Report and Accounts. Anonymised findings of complaints considered by the Independent Complaints Reviewer may also be reported.
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A fundraising complaint may relate to any of our fundraising activities, including our communications, contact methods, the conduct of our staff, volunteers, or our third-party fundraising partners.
To raise a complaint about our fundraising activities, contact our Customer Engagement Team:- Email: supportercare@rspca.org.uk
- Write to us at: RSPCA Customer Engagement, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1GY
After receiving your complaint, we’ll formally acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days. If a full response cannot be provided within 10 working days, we’ll carry out a review or investigation and provide a written response within a maximum of 20 working days from the date of acknowledgement. If there is any delay, we’ll keep you fully informed.
For more information, find the full fundraising complaints process on our Fundraising Compliance page. -
Complaints regarding our recruitment process will be reviewed by our recruitment team and responded to in line with the complaints procedure.
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Complaints that are made to us about our inspectors will be dealt with under the Complaints Procedure. Complaints will first be passed to the relevant chief inspector for investigation and reply (Level 1). If escalation of a complaint is then required, it will be sent to the Inspectorate group’s superintendent (Level 2). If further escalation is required, the complaint will then go to the Assistant Director Inspectorate, the Director of Field Operations or the Chief Executive (Level 3).
Complaints relating to the Inspectorate and Prosecutions that remain unresolved after Level 3, may be referred to the Independent Complaints Reviewer. -
Our Independent Complaints Reviewer is Sally Hobbs. Complaints relating to Inspectorate and Prosecutions may be referred to her, provided they meet certain criteria. Referrals can only occur if all three levels of the complaints procedure have been exhausted, and when a complainant has suffered a personal injustice. You’ll need to advise us that you’re unhappy with the reply received at Level 3 within 15 working days of its date.
Terms of reference for Independent Complaints Reviewer. -
Complaints about financial irregularities will be dealt with under the complaints procedure. As our RSPCA branches and the RSPCA (registered charity number 219099; sometimes known as the ‘national Society’ or ‘RSPCA England & Wales’) are separately registered charities, you’ll need to identify the specific charity you wish to complain about. To do so, search the charity register or the Charity Commission.
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We expect our staff and volunteers to be professional and courteous at all times, so we take complaints about poor conduct very seriously. Any complaints or concerns regarding a member of staff or volunteer are passed on to their managers for investigation.
If the matter falls under our employee/employer confidentiality agreement or our volunteer policy, we may not be able to inform you of the outcome but will still send you a reply when the investigation has been completed. -
We recognise that sometimes people find it difficult to distinguish between their local RSPCA branch and the RSPCA (registered charity number 219099; sometimes known as the ‘national Society’ or ‘RSPCA England & Wales’). Our branches are separately registered charities which operate within the framework of the RSPCA’s policies and guidelines.
The RSPCA branches and the RSPCA are all separately registered charities, and are each separate data controllers for the purposes of data protection legislation. We are only able to respond to feedback, compliments and complaints on our website’s form that relate to the work carried out by the RSPCA.
So, if your complaint is regarding the RSPCA, please continue to follow the RSPCA’s complaints procedure. If your feedback or complaint is regarding an RSPCA branch (not RSPCA, registered charity number 219099), please contact the branch directly to find out their complaints procedure.
If, however, after appealing your complaint, you’re still dissatisfied with a branch’s response, or your complaint relates to governance, compliance, serious animal welfare concerns or safeguarding, you have the option to contact us. We’ll then decide whether the complaint meets the threshold for our involvement.
If you’re uncertain which charity your complaint relates to, please fill out our website complaints form and we will advise you. -
We expect our staff to handle complaints politely at all times. If the person making the complaint uses abusive language or an aggressive tone, we will not engage with this. So if the complaint is made in person, the member of staff may walk away or seek assistance from another staff member. In these circumstances it is unlikely that your complaint will be taken seriously.
If the complaint is made in writing by letter or via our website and uses abusive language or threats, we will reply but will advise you in our response that this is unacceptable.
We may terminate correspondence about a specific complaint if it is clear that despite our best efforts we are unlikely to satisfy you. If you write to us again about a different issue, it will be treated as a new complaint and replied to.
The decision to terminate correspondence will only be made by a senior manager after making sure that the matter has been investigated thoroughly and in line with our procedures. We will always tell you when we are terminating a complaint and the reason we are doing this.
Complaints will also only be considered if they are received within three months of the time when you were first aware of the situation. We do not handle complaints that date back further than this.
Data protection legislation requires us to only process complaints that come from people who have had direct contact with the RSPCA. It prevents us from corresponding with third parties about complaints. This means that we cannot help you if you would like to complain on behalf of a family member, friend, or someone else, unless you have Power of Attorney.
Related content
Use our online complaints form
Alternatively you can write to:
National Complaints Coordinator, RSPCA, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, RH12 1GY
