You should initially address your complaint to the Editors-in-Chief (editor@palatinate.org.uk) outlining your complaint, the issue number, page number and article headline and web page it refers to. Please give as much detail as possible. If your complaint is specifically for publication you should mark it as such, however this will not guarantee publication. Similarly, if your complaint is not for publication, you should indicate this also.
The following complaints procedure will only be undertaken if the correspondence includes the name, address and contact details of the complainant; anonymous complaints cannot be accepted or considered.
- All complaints must be sent either by post to our office address to: The Editors-in-Chief, Palatinate, Durham Students’ Union, Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham DH1 3AN or via email to editor@palatinate.or.uk, complainants must refrain from contacting other members of the Palatinate team such as section editors or individual contributors.
- Complaints cannot be considered if sent via social media or directed to the personal email addresses of the Palatinate team. In addition, Palatinate also asks all complainants to refrain from harassment or other threatening behaviour when in communication with the Editor and indeed any other member of the Palatinate team.
- Furthermore, although we seek to maintain the highest levels of professionalism, please be aware that we are a student newspaper and not an operation that is staffed full-time. Therefore, it may take additional time in order to deal with your complaints than you might expect from a regional or national newspaper, particularly if your complaint is received outside of term-time.
- The Editors-in-Chief will then respond to resolve your complaint informally and, where appropriate, offer a resolution to the problem.
- If you feel that you have exhausted your line of communication with the Editors-in-Chief and are not satisfied with the response, you should send your complaint for attention of the Board of Directors of Palatinate, explaining the details of your initial complaint and why you feel it has not been satisfactorily resolved by your initial contact(s) with the Editor(s)-in-Chief. This process can be instigated by writing to the Board of Directors at the postal address above – please clearly mark the correspondence for the attention of the “Palatinate Board of Directors” or by emailing su.admin@durham.ac.uk.
- The Palatinate Board may choose to meet to discuss the issue, either at the next scheduled Board Meeting or at a specially arranged meeting if appropriate. You may or may not be invited to attend this meeting. The Board may also choose to depute individual Board members to meet and discuss the complaint. In addition, the Board may choose to discuss the complaint electronically. A member of the Board will then contact you in response to your complaint.
- If you are still dissatisfied with the action taken by the Board, you should reply to your contact from the Board to explain why, and ask to appeal the decision to Durham SU’s Board of Trustees. The matter may also be passed to our legal advisers to be dealt with.
- Palatinate treats all complaints seriously and aims to deal with them promptly and professionally. On occasion, we may need to consult our own legal advisers and regulatory bodies before responding to your complaint. We will aim to contact you if a significant delay in responding is to be expected.
- All complaints escalated for Board consideration are kept on file for future reference.
- Please note that although complaints are kept confidential as much as possible, they may be read by people other than the person you address it to, in connection with the procedures detailed above.
- For further explanation of these points or additional advice, please contact the Editors-in-Chief (editor@palatinate.org.uk) or your own legal adviser.