Our Complaints Process

Creative Boom exists to be a positive and encouraging champion for creatives, and we are committed to being a fair, balanced and accurate platform for discussion about the creative industries.

However, mistakes do sometimes happen. When they do, we commit to being open and transparent and to addressing any disputes as fairly as possible.

Creative Boom is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and follows the Editors' Code of Practice.

Who can make a complaint?

Anyone can make a complaint about any article published in Creative Boom.

We accept complaints via email to Katy Cowan, the Editor, at [email protected] or via our postal address, which is available on request.

What happens to your complaint?

All complaints will be acknowledged within ten working days. All complaints will be handled by the Editor. On receiving a complaint, it will be reviewed to ascertain the grounds for complaint and identify how it happened and what, if any, potential remedies exist.

If the complaint relates to an issue that is covered by the Editor's Code of Practice, the complainant will be informed of the Code's existence and sent a link to it.

We will only accept a complaint within 12 months of the article it refers to being published. (However, we will still be open to discussing the correction of errors of spelling, attribution or fact after that date).

How will we respond?

The Editor will respond to your complaint within fourteen days of acknowledging receipt or send a holding response within 14 days explaining why a response is not yet possible.

• If we find your complaint has merit and that we were at fault, we will seek to find a solution.
• If we find that we were not at fault but there is still something we can do and it's right to do so, we will seek to find a solution.
• If we find that we were not at fault and that we cannot help you, we will say so.

There are a range of options open to us if we do uphold your complaint. These can include a correction to the text, a formal correction published on our platform, removal of an article, an apology (either public or private), assurances about further coverage, assurances of staff training, publishing a letter from the complainant, or publication of a follow-up story.

All records relating to your complaint will be kept for three years.

IPSO – The Independent Press Standards Organisation

IPSO is an independent body that handles complaints about anything published by the newspapers, magazines and websites it is responsible for regulating. If a complainant is unhappy with the response from Creative Boom, they can make a complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

You can find more information about how to make a complaint to IPSO at ipso.co.uk/make-a-complaint.

Complainants can call IPSO for advice on complaints handling or on compliance with the Code on 0300 123 2220 or email [email protected].

What happens if a complaint is made to IPSO?

IPSO can accept complaints up to 12 months after publication of an article and complainants must make complaints under the Editors' Code of Practice.

When a complaint comes to IPSO, it reviews the complaint to make sure that it: - discloses a possible breach of the Code - is from a first party, or third party in the case of an accuracy complaint - is about a publication IPSO regulates - is about an article published in the last twelve months

If the complaint raises a possible breach of the Editors' Code, and the complainant has not previously complained to Creative Boom, IPSO will generally pass the complaint to the publisher, who will seek to resolve the matter directly with the complainant. This is called the 'referral period'.

The referral period usually lasts for no more than 28 days. At any point during the process, we can refer a complaint back to IPSO if we feel that we will not be able to resolve the complaint.

If IPSO investigates a complaint, we will respond to all correspondence within seven days and will abide by any decisions made by IPSO.