Being accessible
We aim to be accessible to members of the public and the advertising industry. We shall publish our contact details (website, address and telephone) on all our literature and ensure that our switchboard is staffed during normal office hours(9 am – 5.30 pm).
Customer satisfaction with our accessibility is measured by a twice yearly survey. In 2007, 84% of complainants agreed that the ASA is accessible to the public.
We aim to ensure that members of the public are aware of our existence and role, and recognise our name and logo. In 2007, 17% of the public could spontaneously name the ASA as the advertising regulator, and 15% recognised our logo.
Responsiveness
We aim to resolve complaints without undue delay, but complaints that require investigation can take longer than the average. Our aim is to acknowledge complaints within five working days of receipt, reply to all other correspondence within 10 working days, and keep complainants advised of progress on a regular basis.In 2007, 85% of complainants surveyed were satisfied with the time it took to respond to their complaint and 64% were satisfied that they were kept informed throughout the complaint process.
We aim to turn around complaints, on average, within 12 working days, with at least 80% being within this target. If complaints warrant a full investigation, we aim to resolve them within 60 working days, whilst recognising that complaints by commercial competitors can be protracted.
We aim to respond to e-mail enquiries within 48 hours during the working week. Customer satisfaction with our timeliness is measured by a quarterly survey.
Overall in 2007, complaints were resolved within an average of 11 working days, with 87% within the 12-day target. Those requiring investigation were resolved within an average of 63 days, with 82% within target.
If a complaint is outside our remit we will advise within 10 working days and provide information on who should be contacted. In 2007, overall customer satisfaction for complaints held to be outside remit was 53%.
Effectiveness
We aim to meet the needs of our customers, whether members of the public or industry.While recognising that we operate in circumstances where some 80% of complaints result in a “not upheld” decision, we aim to achieve the highest possible scores in our Customer Satisfaction surveys and from the advertisers and agencies with whom we deal in resolving complaints. In 2007, overall complainant satisfaction was 61% and the score from non-broadcast advertisers and agencies was 80%.
Quality
We aim to deliver a high quality and professional service.If a complainant or advertiser believes that the ASA’s handling of a complaint is not complying with these standards, they can write to the Director General outlining their concerns and he will respond within 10 working days. In 2007, 50% of such correspondence was replied to within 10 working days. The average time taken was 10.1 calendar days.
If a complainant or advertiser believes that there is a substantial flaw in a Council adjudication, they may be able to secure an independent review by the Independent Reviewer of ASA Adjudications. Details of the review process are set out in the codes and in the Independent Reviewer’s report for 2007.
Transparency
We aim to be open about our procedures and our decision making, and accountable for our performance.
We shall publish our adjudications each week on our website www.asa.org.uk.
Our website provides full information on who we are, how we operate, and our consumer research. The usefulness of the information on our website achieved an 82% satisfaction rating in 2007.
We shall publish our performance statistics on the website on a quarterly basis and an Annual Report in April/May each year reviewing our activities throughout the previous calendar year. We publish an Annual Statement in October each year updating our performance reporting (January – June) and setting out our objectives for the coming year.
