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Data protection and complaints

Complaints policy

How to make a complaint, what we will do and by when, and what we expect from you while we deal with it.

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Code Hamsters (Simple Platform Work Limited)
Version 1.0, approved 13 October 2026 by Mathew Long, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Next review: October 2027, or sooner after any incident or change in the law or guidance.

We want every family to be happy with Code Hamsters. If something has gone wrong, please tell us so we can put it right. This policy explains how to complain, what we will do, and what we expect from you while we deal with it.

1. Safeguarding concerns come first

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. A worry about a child’s safety, or about how any adult behaves towards children, is not handled as a complaint. Contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mathew Long, straight away on +44 7877 742502, as our safeguarding and child protection policy and reporting concerns about an adult explain.

2. What this policy covers

This policy covers complaints about our sessions, our tutors, bookings and payments, and how we have dealt with you. Some matters have their own process, which we follow instead:

3. Talk to us first

Most problems can be sorted out quickly. Please speak to your child’s tutor at the end of a session, or email us, before making a formal complaint.

4. How to make a complaint

Email matt@codehamsters.com. We only deal with formal complaints in writing, so we have an accurate record of what you have told us. Please include:

  • your name, and your child’s name
  • the date and venue of the session, if it is about a session
  • what happened, and any evidence you have
  • what you would like us to do to put it right

Please complain within 3 months of what happened. After that it is harder for us to investigate fairly, and we may decline to look into it.

5. What we will do

  1. Acknowledge. We will confirm we have received your complaint within 5 working days.
  2. Investigate. We will look at the facts, which may include speaking to the tutor and anyone else involved and checking our records.
  3. Respond. We aim to send you a full written response within 20 working days. If we need longer, we will tell you why and when to expect it.
  4. Review. If you are not satisfied, reply within 14 days of our response explaining why. We will look at your complaint again and send our final response within 20 working days. That is the end of our complaints process, and we will not reopen a closed complaint unless you give us new information.

6. Possible outcomes

We may uphold your complaint, uphold part of it, or not uphold it. Where we agree something went wrong, we may:

  • apologise and explain what happened
  • change how we do things so it does not happen again
  • offer a credit for a future session or a refund, under our refund policy and terms

Any credit, refund or other remedy is at our discretion unless the law requires it. An apology or explanation is not an admission of legal liability.

7. What we expect from you

We will treat you with courtesy and expect the same in return. We may limit how and how often you can contact us, or stop corresponding about a complaint, if contact becomes abusive, threatening or unreasonably persistent, or if you keep raising a complaint we have already closed. Aggressive or abusive behaviour towards a tutor may also lead us to withdraw your child’s place, as section 8 of our behaviour and exclusion policy explains.

8. Confidentiality and records

We only share the details of your complaint with the people who need them to investigate it. We keep a record of each complaint and how we resolved it, and handle it as our privacy policy describes.

9. If you are still unhappy

If we cannot resolve your complaint, our final response will say so, give you the details of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider as the law requires, and tell you whether we agree to use it. We are not obliged to use ADR. You can get free, independent advice from Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133.

Code Hamsters is run by Simple Platform Work Limited. This policy does not affect your statutory rights.