Complaints
Responding to Caribbean Speaks complaints is a good business practice and “the right thing to do.”
Caribbean Speaks is committed to dealing fairly and even-handedly with all businesses in the manner in which we handle, close, and report customer complaints.
When you file a complaint
Everything you submit will be forwarded to the business within two business days. The business will be asked to respond within 14 days, and if a response is not received, a second request will be made. You will be notified of the business’s response when we receive it (or you will be notified that we received no response). Complaints are generally closed within 30 days.
Timeline

  1. Complaint is filed.
  2. Caribbean Speaks works to get the complaint processed within two business days.
  3. Business will be asked to respond in 14 calendar days from the date you filed the complaint. If a response is not received, a follow-up letter will be sent to the business.
  4. Consumer will be notified of the business response when Caribbean Speaks receives it and will be asked to respond.
  5. If the business fails to respond, the consumer will be notified. Complaints are generally closed within approximately 30 calendar days from the date filed.
    If the business responds to a complaint but the customer remains dissatisfied, Caribbean Speaks may request a second response from the business. Caribbean Speaks staff will also consider whether mediation or arbitration should be considered.
    Once a complaint is closed, Caribbean Speaks will assign one of the following closing statuses:
  6. Resolved = The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
  7. Answered = The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either (a) did not accept the response, OR (b) did not notify Caribbean Speaks as to their satisfaction.
  8. Unresolved = The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
  9. Unanswered = The business failed to respond to the dispute.
  10. Unpursuable = Caribbean Speaks is unable to locate the business.
    Failure to respond to a Caribbean Speaks complaint may have a negative impact on the company rating of any business because being responsive to customer complaints is a core element of Caribbean Speaks Standards and Caribbean Speaks Reporting Standards.
    A complaint can be filed by one of the following methods:
  11. Via Caribbean Speaks’ website – file a complaint.
  12. Or by submitting a written complaint letter to Caribbean Speaks (please include your name, address , email and phone number, the company’s name, address and phone number, a summary of the issue, and your desired resolution via email.
    The following criteria should apply before proceeding with the complaint process:
  13. The consumer should have contacted the business at least once to resolve the issue (this is not required but encouraged).
  14. The complaint must meet Caribbean Speaks Complaint Acceptance Guidelines.
    Caribbean Speaks handles disputes related to marketplace issues experienced with the services or products a business provides. We do NOT handle the following types of complaints (please note this may not be a complete list):
    o Employer/employee disputes
    o Complaints about the postal service
    o Complaints about government agencies (administrative units of a local, state, federal, or provincial government)
    o Complaints about discrimination or violation of similar statutory/constitutional rights
    o Complaints seeking criminal penalties or alleging criminal violations
    o Cases that are already in or have been resolved by a previous court action, arbitration, or settlement between the parties
    o Complaints raising issues concerning the competency of doctors, dentists, licensed therapists, veterinarians, Certified Public Accountants or Chartered Accountants , and lawyers (However, Caribbean Speaks does accept complaints such as billing disputes or customer service issues)
    o Complaints against companies that are out of business
    o Collection of payment owed for goods or services provided (Caribbean Speaks cannot act as a collection agency)
    o Issues based solely on the dissatisfaction of price
    o Buyer’s remorse
    o Complaints against an individual who is not engaged in business
    o Complaints that are not from a person (or a person’s authorized representative) or entity (business-to-business) that had a marketplace relationship with the business
    o Complaints that do not indicate a request for Caribbean Speaks assistance
    o Anonymously filed complaints
    Important Notice
  15. Your complaint cannot be changed, edited or deleted once submitted.
  16. An exact copy of your complaint will be sent to the business.
  17. Once a complaint has been closed, the text of the complaint may be publicly posted on Caribbean Speaks website. Please do not include any personally-identifiable information. By submitting your complaint, you are representing that it is a truthful account of your experience with the business. Caribbean Speaks may edit your complaint to remove any personally identifiable information and/or inappropriate language, but ultimately it is your responsibility to remove this information.
  18. Caribbean Speaks may include complaint/response text for all reportable complaints against a business unless the business receives a high volume of complaints. If this is the case, complaint/response text for a representative sample of complaints may be included by (a) publishing a pre-determined percentage of all complaints received (e.g., publishing every fourth complaint received) and (b) disclosing the percentage of complaints published.
  19. Complaints will appear on Caribbean Speaks Business Profiles for three years from the date the complaint was filed with the Caribbean Speaks.