I've been meaning to send a formal complaint to the RSPCA for ages. This has prompted me to get on with it.
My letter:
Dear Sirs,
I have had cause to contact you on 3 separate occasions in the last 12 months.
On the first occasion it was in relation to a group of starving/mis-treated/terrified dogs. The situation was discovered by a friend of mine who, due to the circumstances was too afraid to call you herself so I offered.
I had to navigate a complex and annoying "press 1, press 2" system only to ultimately find myself at the end of dead line. I called back and on the third attempt I got through to an abrupt and unhelpful woman who left me shaking with anger and frustration. I have no idea as to whether something was done about the poor animals.
On the second occasion it was in relation to a young tethered gypsy pony who was standing in direct sunlight, without shade/shelter, access to water and was underweight.
Again I had to navigate the frustrating and user un-friendly telephone system to be told (by a robot) that unless I had a dog or a cat that was injured and it was Mon-Friday (it was a Saturday) to go away! I called back and had to ignore the phone instructions in order to speak to a person. Again the woman I spoke to was curt and unsympathetic although I doubt it was the same person. She was flippant and appeared uninterested in the situation.
The third occasion was last Saturday 27th November. My father-in-law was very concerned about a cat that had been in his garden all day crying. It was unfamiliar to him, had no means of identification and was repeatedly launching itself at the fence for no apparent reason. Given the extreme temperatures, we were concerned that it may have become lost or had been dumped and I phoned for some advice. On this occasion I didn't even get through. I just got a recorded message telling me that unless the cat was injured to leave it alone.
In addition to the above, I have had countless stories told to me by friends and acquaintances, all with similar endings - poor telephone response = nothing happens.
Indeed, only yesterday a man flagged me down near to where I keep my two ponies and I asked for my help. He was aware of two horses in a village near to him who had no shelter, food or water. He was very concerned and had been driving around for TWO HOURS trying to get help. I asked the obvious question "have you tried the RSPCA?" "Yes" he said, "and they were useless".
I give to the RSPCA + two other animal charities every month via direct debit.
I foster for a local Rabbit & Guinea Pig rescue and help with regular fundraisers. I also have a blue cross pony as a companion to an elderly retired pony of my own.
I am an active member on a popular rabbit rescue/re-homing forum.
I feel I do "my bit" for animals and hope to do more in the future.
I am VERY aware that times are hard and that all rescues are struggling. I am also deeply passionate about the subject of animal welfare both in the UK and overseas.
Sadly in the last 12 months I have found the RSPCA to be unhelpful, uninterested, dismissive and uncaring. It would appear that should an animal be unfortunate enough to fall ill, be abandoned or become injured at a weekend, you are not interested. Unless it is an injured cat or dog, you are not interested. If an animal is freezing and starving to death but has no physical "injuries", you are not interested.
If nothing else - you should be in a position to SPEAK to people and give out GOOD advice as a result of GOOD training. Robotic telephone systems are a great invention and can be very effective at guiding people to the right department but they should lead to a REAL PERSON and not a dead tone.
Good, honest, caring members of the public are taking the time and making the effort, often at an inconvenience, even a cost to themselves, to contact you and highlight details of animals who are dying, have been abandoned, are being abused or who are suffering unnecessarily and you are IGNORING THEM. You are letting us down when we have nowhere else to turn. Where does this leave us? Where does it leave the animals?
The call centre operatives that I have dealt with appear to have been on a "customer prevention course" combined with "de-empathisation training". Your shockingly bad telephone manner and your appalling reputation in this area (specifically) is growing fast.
You say that: "Feedback is valuable in letting us know where we are providing successful, valued services that we can build on, or where we need to improve our services." We shall see.
You have some serious work to do. Mud sticks and right now the RSPCA is covered in it.
Yours