Our Statement of Commitment

The National Road Victim Service (NRVS) is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and supportive service for beneficiaries, their families, and our partners and their organisations.

We take complaints about our services seriously and view them as an opportunity to identify and apologise for any mistakes or inadequacies in our systems, and implement improvements to our services.

We recognise that our beneficiaries, and their families, have been exposed to high levels of trauma and this may impact on how you express concerns, and make complaints. We take a trauma-informed approach to receiving, processing and resolving complaints, ensuring that all individuals (regardless of whether they be a beneficiary, family member, or a professional engaging with the service), are treated with dignity, sensitivity, understanding, and fairness.

Who can complain

Anyone, being supported by Brake’s National Victim Road Service may raise a concern or complaint. Additionally, anyone acting as an advocate for anyone being supported by the NRVS may raise a concern or complaint. Professionals engaging with our service may also raise complaints.

For your feedback to be treated as a formal complaint, you must be complaining about a specific service you, or someone you are representing, received from Brake’s National Road Victim Service, and which you consider fell below acceptable standards. General comments about Brake's work or opinions on issues we deal with will not be treated as complaints but can be submitted to us through our comments form.

How to make a complaint about Brake's National Road Victim Service

Complaints can be made in a variety of different ways:

  • Over the telephone on 0808 800 0401
  • In person
  • Email: complaints@brake.org.uk and mark the subject “NRVS Complaint”
  • Post: PO Box 18,896, Sutton Coldfield, B73 9BL
  • Via a third-party advocate or support person.

You can use the way that feels most comfortable and safest for you.

So that we can investigate any complaint thoroughly, please provide full details as you understand them, of what you believe we didn't do well and why, how that affected you, and what you think we should do now. By doing so, we have all the necessary information to hand from the beginning. For example, if you are complaining about an aspect of a conversation you had with a Brake employee, it helps if can tell us exactly when that conversation took place and, if you remember their name, who you spoke to, what happened, and what you think we should have done differently.

On receipt of a valid complaint, we will:

  • Acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 2 working days
  • Provide clear information about the complaints process in accessible formats
  • Avoid requiring individuals to retell their experience multiple times, unless they wish to do so
  • Respect cultural, linguistic, or disability-related needs
  • Ensure that all staff involved in the complaints process are trained in trauma informed practice.
  • After acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 2 working days, we will provide you with an update within 10 working days of the complaint being received by us.
  • We will provide you will further updates within every 10 subsequent days of the complaint being received by us, until the matter has been resolved.

Published: October 2025

Date of next review: September 2026