Complaints Procedure
Last updated: 16 September 2026
1. Purpose
This procedure explains how to complain about The WERC App (the platform, our staff, or how we handle personal data) and what you can expect. It does not replace your institution's complaints or research-ethics procedures for a particular study.
2. What we handle
- Account, access, points, or technical problems with thewerc.app
- How The WERC App staff have treated you
- Data protection concerns about data the WERC app hosts (see also the Privacy Policy)
- Integrity or reward disputes that the campus technician cannot resolve
What to take to your institution first
- Study design, ethics, consent materials, or researcher conduct
- Data collected on Gorilla, Qualtrics, Pavlovia, or other external tools
- Campus reward fulfilment (vouchers, café, bursary rules)
If you are unsure, email us anyway. We will say if the Institution must lead, and we will not ignore a data-protection issue we are responsible for.
3. How to complain
Email hello@werc.uk (general), support@werc.uk (technical), or dpo@werc.uk (data protection). Please include:
- Your name and account email
- Your institution, if any
- What happened, when, and what you want us to do
- Any study title or screenshot that helps (do not send passwords)
4. What happens next
- Acknowledgement: within 2 business days
- Outcome: within 10 business days in ordinary cases. If we need longer (for example a complex security review) we will say why and give a new date.
- Data subject requests (access, erasure, and similar) follow the 30-day statutory period in the Privacy Policy, not the 10-day complaints target.
We will not retaliate for a good-faith complaint. Integrity standing is not used to punish people for complaining about the platform.
5. Escalation
If you are unhappy with our response, ask us to review it (reply to the same thread).
For data protection you may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO prefers that you give us a chance to respond first.
Consumers may have additional rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.