Complaints Policy

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Last reviewed and updated: 18 September 2026
Effective from: 18 September 2026
Policy owner: Director – Admissions & Compliance

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1. Our commitment

At Orienta, we want you to feel informed, supported and treated fairly. If something has gone wrong, we want to hear about it and have the opportunity to put it right.

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We take complaints seriously and handle them respectfully, fairly and without charge. You do not need legal knowledge or formal language to make a complaint. Making a complaint will not result in unfair treatment, pressure to withdraw it or a lower standard of application support.

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Orienta is a trading name of Northreach Education Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 17220179. Our registered office is at 14 Monmouth Road, London, E6 3QT.

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2. What you can complain about

This policy covers concerns about Orienta's own services, including:

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• The accuracy or clarity of information we have provided.

• Communication, delays or application support.

• The conduct of anyone acting on Orienta's behalf.

• Unfair treatment, discrimination or accessibility barriers.

• How we have handled your personal information or documents.

• How we have administered a referral reward or another commitment we have made.

 

You can complain whether you are a prospective applicant, a current or former applicant, or another person affected by our service. Someone may help you or act on your behalf. Before discussing your personal information with a representative, we will normally ask you to authorise this, or check any other lawful authority they hold.

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We will consider anonymous concerns where there is enough information to do so, although we may be unable to investigate fully or provide an individual response.

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3. Complaints about a university, college or funding body

Decisions about admission, course delivery, assessments, enrolment and student finance are normally the responsibility of the relevant provider or funding body.

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Complaints or appeals about those matters should follow that organisation's own process.

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We can help you identify the appropriate route. If your complaint also concerns something Orienta did or failed to do, we will investigate our part rather than simply referring the whole matter elsewhere.

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A complaint to Orienta does not pause a university appeal, funding deadline or any external time limit. Please tell us about urgent deadlines when you contact us.

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4. How to raise a concern or complaint

You can contact us by:

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Email: hello@orienta.london
Telephone: 0204 524 0433
Post: Complaints, Orienta, 14 Monmouth Road, London, E6 3QT

 

For email, the subject line “Complaint — [your name]” helps us identify your message, but it is not a requirement.

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Please tell us, as far as you can:

• Your name and preferred contact details.

• What happened and when.

• How it affected you.

• Any relevant correspondence or documents.

• What you would like us to do to put things right.

 

You do not need to provide everything before contacting us. We can help you record a complaint made by telephone and confirm our understanding with you.

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Please raise concerns as soon as reasonably possible while information is available. We will not automatically reject a complaint because it is raised later. If the passage of time limits what we can investigate, we will explain why.

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5. Accessibility and support

Tell us if you need help to make a complaint, an alternative format, a telephone conversation or another reasonable adjustment. You may involve a trusted person or representative. If you need language support, we will discuss what assistance we can reasonably arrange.

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We will agree a suitable way to communicate and consider reasonable requests for extra time.

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6. How we handle your complaint

Initial resolution

If you feel comfortable doing so, you can first tell us what is wrong and ask us to resolve it informally. This is optional: you can ask for a formal investigation straight away, without completing an informal stage.

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Formal investigation

The Director – Admissions & Compliance currently manages complaints at Orienta.

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We aim to:

• Acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receiving it.

• Confirm the issues we will investigate, who will handle the complaint and whether we need further information.

• Provide a written outcome within 20 working days of receiving your complaint.

 

Working days mean Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays in England and Wales.

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We will consider the available evidence, including your account, relevant records and explanations from anyone involved. We will not assume that a complaint is unfounded simply because someone disagrees with it.

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If we cannot respond within 20 working days, we will explain the reason before that target expires, give a revised response date and keep you informed. Requests for further information do not silently restart the response period.

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If there is an immediate risk to your safety, information security or an application deadline, we will consider appropriate action promptly rather than waiting for the full investigation to end.

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Our response

Our written response will explain:

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• What we investigated and the evidence considered.

• Whether each main issue is upheld, partly upheld or not upheld, and why.

• Any action we will take, who is responsible and when it should happen.

• How to request a review if you remain dissatisfied.

 

Where we have made a mistake, possible remedies include an apology, corrected information, practical help to resolve an application problem, fulfilment of a commitment or a change to our procedures. Any other appropriate remedy will depend on the circumstances and your legal rights. We cannot promise to reverse a decision made by another organisation.

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7. If you disagree with the outcome

You can request a review by contacting hello@orienta.london, preferably within 20 working days of our response. Tell us what you believe was overlooked, any new evidence, or why you consider the outcome or process unfair. We will consider reasonable requests made outside this period.

We aim to acknowledge a review request within five working days and provide our final written response within 20 working days of receiving it. If more time is needed, we will explain why and give a revised date.

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Orienta currently operates with a small management structure. A different internal reviewer may not be available, and we will not describe a review by the same person as independent.

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If your complaint concerns the Director, or the Director handled the original investigation, we will explain this potential conflict and consider whether a suitable person who was not involved can review the matter. We will tell you who will conduct the review and how any conflict will be managed. If an independent reviewer cannot be arranged, we will say so clearly and explain any relevant external options. You do not have to agree that a same-person review is independent or give up your external rights.

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The final response will explain whether the original outcome has changed, any further action and any external route relevant to your complaint.

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8. External advice and escalation

You may obtain independent advice at any stage. Our process does not prevent you from exercising your legal rights or contacting an appropriate authority.

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• Consumer advice: Citizens Advice can provide information about consumer rights and routes for further help: citizensadvice.org.uk.

• Personal information: You can raise data protection concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO generally asks you to raise the matter with the organisation first: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

• Provider-related complaints: A university, college or relevant recruitment partner may have a route for complaints about an agent acting on its behalf. We will identify an applicable route where one exists. This does not replace our responsibility to consider our own conduct.

 

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is not a general complaints service for education agents. It considers eligible complaints about member higher education providers, normally after the provider's own procedures are complete. Most admissions complaints fall outside its remit. Check eligibility before relying on that route: oiahe.org.uk/students/can-you-complain-to-us.

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Where an applicable alternative dispute resolution route exists, we will provide the relevant details and explain whether we are required or willing to participate. This policy does not claim membership of an ombudsman or dispute resolution scheme.

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9. Confidentiality and records

We handle complaint information in accordance with our Privacy Notice and applicable data protection requirements. We share it only where necessary and lawful to investigate, respond, obtain appropriate advice or meet a legal obligation. We cannot promise absolute secrecy where doing so would prevent a fair investigation or conflict with a legal duty.

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We keep proportionate records of complaints, evidence, decisions and corrective actions, with access restricted to those who need it. We retain records in line with our documented retention arrangements and explain relevant retention information in our Privacy Notice.

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Complaints can reveal areas where our service needs to improve. We use those lessons to review our information, processes and training while protecting personal information.

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10. Respectful communication and policy review

We recognise that complaints can be upsetting. We will not treat someone as unreasonable simply because they are distressed, persistent or disagree with us.

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If communication includes threats, harassment or serious abuse, we may put proportionate arrangements in place, such as a single contact person or written communication only. We will explain any restriction, keep an accessible way to pursue the complaint and review the arrangement when appropriate.

 

We review this policy at least annually and sooner if our services, staffing or relevant requirements change. Updates will not be used to remove rights or unfairly disadvantage someone with an existing complaint.