"complaint"
means a specific complaint relating to a service rendered by an export agent or employee to the complainant or to the conduct of an export agent or employee and in which complaint it is alleged that the export agent or employee—
| (a) |
has contravened or failed to comply with a provision of the Act or of these rules irrespective of whether as a result thereof the complainant has suffered or is likely to suffer loss or damage; |
| (b) |
has wilfully or negligently rendered a service to the complainant which has caused loss or damage to the complainant or which is likely to result in such loss or damage; or |
| (c) |
has treated the complainant unfairly, unprofessionally or improperly; |
| (d) |
has through any other act or omission conducted himself unprofessionally, improperly or disgracefully. |
"internal complaint resolution system and procedures"
in relation to an export agent and a person, means the system and procedures established and maintained by the export agent in accordance with these rules for the resolution of complaints by principals or other persons;
"resolution", or "internal resolution"
in relation to a complaint and an export agent, means the process of the resolving of a complaint through and in accordance with the internal complaint resolution system and procedures of the export agent;
| (2) |
An export agent must— |
| (a) |
request that any person who has a complaint against the export agent trust lodge such complaint in writing; |
| (b) |
maintain a record of such complaints for a period of five years; |
| (c) |
handle complaints in a timely and fair manner; |
| (d) |
take steps to investigate and respond promptly to such complaints; and |
| (e) |
where such a complaint is not resolved to the complainant's satisfaction, advise the complainant chat other steps are available in terms of the Act and these Rules. |
| 18. |
Basic principles of systems and procedures |
An export agent, excluding an employee must maintain an internal complaint resolution system and procedures based on the following:
| (a) |
maintenance of a comprehensive complaints policy outlining the export agent's commitment to, and system and procedures for, internal resolution of complaints; |
| (b) |
transparency and visibility: ensuring that complainants have full knowledge of the procedures for resolution of their complaints; |
| (c) |
accessibility of facilities: ensuring the existence of easy access to such procedures at any office or branch of the export agent open to clients, or through ancillary postal, fax, telephone or electronic helpdesk support; and |
| (d) |
fairness: ensuring that a resolution of a complaint can during and by means of the resolution process be effected which is fair to both complainants and the export agent and its staff. |
| 19. |
Resolution of complaints |
The internal complaint resolution system and procedures of the export agent must be designed to ensure the existence and maintenance of at least the following for purposes of effective and fair resolution of complaints:
| (a) |
availability of adequate manpower and other resources; |
| (b) |
adequate training of all relevant staff, including imparting and ensuring full knowledge of the provisions of the Act, and the rules with regard to resolution of complaints; |
| (c) |
ensure that responsibilities and mandates are delegated to facilitate complaints resolution of a routine nature; |
| (d) |
ensure that there is provision for the escalation of non-routine serious complaints and the handling thereof by staff with adequate expertise; |
| (e) |
internal follow-up procedures to ensure avoidance of occurrences giving rise to complaints, or to improve services and complaint systems and procedures where necessary. |
| (1) |
Subject to the other provisions of rules 17 to 20, the internal complaint resolution system and procedures of an export agent must contain arrangements which— |
| (i) |
reduce the details of the internal complaint resolution system and procedures of the export agent, including all subsequent updating or upgrading thereof, to writing; |
| (ii) |
provide that access to the procedures is at all times available to complainants at any relevant office or branch of the export agent, or by electronic medium, and that such availability is appropriately made known by public press or electronic announcements or separate business communications to existing principals; |
| (iii) |
include in the details envisaged in subparagraph (i), a reference to the duties of the export agent and the rights of a complainant set out in rules 17 to 20 above; |
| (iv) |
include in such details a clear summary of the provisions of the Act, which will apply whenever the complainant, after dismissal of a complaint by the export agent, wishes to pursue further proceedings before the Council; and |
| (v) |
include in such details the name, address and other contact particulars of the Registrar; |
| (b) |
must stipulate that complaints must, if possible, be submitted in writing and must contain all relevant information, and that copies of all relevant documentation must be attached thereto; |
| (c) |
must provide that the receipt of complaints is promptly acknowledged in writing to the complainant, with communication particulars of contact staff to be involved in the resolution of the complaint, and are properly internally recorded by the relevant staff for purposes of compliance with rule 21(3) below; |
| (d) |
must make provision that after the receipt and recording of a particular complaint, the complaint will as soon as practically possible be forwarded to the relevant staff appointed to consider its resolution, and that— |
| (i) |
the complaint receives proper consideration; |
| (ii) |
appropriate management controls are available to exercise effective control and supervision of the consideration process; |
| (iii) |
the complainant is informed of the results of the consideration within six weeks of receipt of a complaint: Provided that if the outcome is not favourable to the complainant, full written reasons must be furnished to the complainant within six weeks of receipt of a complaint, and the complainant must be advised that the complaint may within six months be pursued with the Council those name, address and other contact particulars must simultaneously be provided to the complainant. |
| (2) |
In any case where a complaint is resolved in favour of a complainant, the export agent must ensure that a full and appropriate level of redress is offered to the complainant without any delay. |
| (3) |
An export agent must maintain records for a minimum period of five years regarding complaints are received together with an indication whether or not any such complaint has been resolved. |
| 21. |
Termination of agreement or business |
| (1) |
An export agent must— |
| (a) |
subject to any contractual obligations, give immediate effect to a request of a principal who voluntarily seeks to terminate any agreement or mandate with the export agent; |
| (b) |
where the principal makes the request on the advice of the export agent, the export agent must take reasonable steps to ensure that the principal fully understands all the implications of the termination; |
| (2) |
An export agent, other than an employee, who ceases to operate as such, must immediately notify all affected principals accordingly and take, where reasonably necessary or appropriate in consultation with the principals, reasonable steps to ensure that any outstanding business is completed promptly or transferred to another export agent selected by the affected principals; and |
| (3) |
Where an employee ceases to be employed by that export agent, such export agent must immediately take, where reasonably necessary or consultation with the employee concerned, reasonable steps to notify all affected principals accordingly and ensure that outstanding business is completed or transferred to another employee of that export agent or such other export agent as selected by the principal concerned. |
No export agent may request or induce in any manner a principal to waive any right or benefit conferred on the principal by or in terms of any provision of the Act or these rules, or recognise, accept or act on any such waiver by the principal, and any such waiver is null and void.
Statistics Act, 1999
