Do you think that you've recently experienced discrimination because of your sight loss? Perhaps you've been told that you can't bring your Guide Dog into a taxi or a Sales Assistant has refused to help you with your shopping?
There are many options available to you if you think that you've been treated unfairly because of your sight loss. You can:
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Contact the manager - to describe what happened and to tell them what you expect them to do.
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Follow the organisation's complaints procedure - they may have a telephone number that you need to call or a form that you need to complete.
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Write a complaint letter - you can read our example complaint letter:
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Download our Equality Act - challenging discrimination toolkit - to find out about your rights and the most effective way to challenge service providers.
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Take your case to court - if you haven't achieved the result you want after making a complaint.
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Contact our Legal Rights team - for further advice and support on 0303 123 9999 or legalrights@rnib.org.uk.
Remember however you decide to take your complaint forward, if you refer to the Equality Act 2010 you must be sure that you've been discriminated against because of your sight loss. If you've received poor customer service that isn't a result of being blind or partially sighted, you can still complain but this isn't covered by the Equality Act 2010.
Equality Act - challenging discrimination toolkit
We've developed a toolkit to help you understand:
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your rights under the Equality Act 2010
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what organisations have to do accordingly to the law
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the most effective way for you to complain.
The toolkit includes information on what disability is, what service providers have to do, a guide to writing a complaint letter, an example complaint letter and a letter from RNIB highlighting the importance of complying with the Equality Act 2010.
You can download our toolkit or you can request a copy in your preferred format from our Helpline by calling 0303 123 9999 or emailing helpline@rnib.org.uk.
Tell us what you think about the toolkit
We're looking for customer feedback on our toolkit, so if you've used it to make a complaint please get in touch with us on legalrights@rnib.org.uk. Alternatively, you send your comments to us by posting them to Freepost RNIB Welfare Rights. The postage has been paid, so there's no need to attach a stamp.
Taking your case to court
Hopefully your complaint letter will get you the result you want, but if it doesn't you might decide to take your case to court. If you would like to do this, you have to start your case within six months less one day from the date of the discrimination. This means that it's best to start your complaint as soon as you can, so that you have enough time to try and resolve the dispute before you have to start court proceedings if you're unable to resolve the issue.
Our Legal Rights team can give you further information and advice. Call us on 0303 123 9999 or email legalrights@rnib.org.uk.