Complaints

A complaint is:

an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.

Our residents do not need to use the word ‘complaint’ for us to treat their concerns as a complaint under this policy. Whenever a resident expresses dissatisfaction we will offer them the opportunity to make a formal complaint.

We can receive complaints via telephone, email, in writing, via our website and social media. We can accommodate a meeting in person at our offices for concerns to be logged but would follow up with communication via telephone or in a written format.

Complaints made via social media will be responded to publicly with a request to move to a private message to maintain confidentiality and privacy.

Exclusions: We will consider the individual circumstances of each complaint, However, there are some circumstances where we will not accept a complaint or escalation, though we may decide to investigate the matter internally to ensure we continue to provide the best possible service. Such circumstances include but are not limited to:

• A request for a service or repair.
• A complaint regarding a repair, service, or action, where the timeframe we set to fulfil this is yet to pass.
• The complaint has already exhausted our policy and a Stage 2 response letter has been provided.
• Matters that relate to the wording of a policy.
• Insurance and personal injury claims; our insurers will handle these.
• Where the issue took place more than 12 months ago.
• The amount of Service Charge or Rent.
• Where legal proceedings have started. This is defined as details of the claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, having been filed at court.
• Demoted Tenancy or License appeals, along with matters that have already been determined under this policy or another policy appeal process.
• Anonymous complaints.

Who can make a complaint?

Any tenant, leaseholder, resident or applicant for housing can make a complaint. If you need help in making a complaint, someone else can complain on your behalf, but we will need to be sure that they are representing your views.

Procedure

All our staff can help customers who want to make a complaint. They will log the complaint at Formal Stage 1 and provide a quick fix where appropriate, effectively resolving the problem without a lengthy investigation. A letter will be sent which acknowledges the complaint and details the response that was provided, no later than five working days of receipt.

Should a quick fix not be appropriate, we will log the complaint at Formal Stage 1 and provide a written acknowledgement letter within five working days of receipt. A written response will be sent to the complainant within ten working days. We may need to extend this timeframe by a further ten working days; when this happens, we will agree with the resident suitable intervals for keeping them informed about their complaint.

A Formal Stage 1 response may be appealed up to 12 months after the date of the response letter.

The complainant should make us aware that they would like to appeal the outcome of a Formal Stage 1 complaint and escalate it to Formal Stage 2. Should we accept the appeal, we will provide a written acknowledgement letter within five working days of receipt, containing the contact details of the person responsible for reviewing the complaint at Formal Stage 2. This person is different to the person who responded to the complaint at Formal Stage 1.

At Formal Stage 2, a written response will be sent to the complainant within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated. The letter will respond to the reasons for the appeal, address whether the manager agrees with the Formal Stage 1 response and outline our final response. We may need to extend this timeframe by a further 20 working days; when this happens, we will communicate and explain the extension to the complainant.

We may decline a request for an appeal to the outcome of a Formal Stage 1 complaint; reasons for this are listed but not limited to those in section 4.8 Exclusions of the Complaints policy. Where we decide to decline a request for an appeal, we will write to the complainant within five working days to explain why we have come to a decision. This letter will clearly communicate that the response at Formal Stage 1 is our final response on the matter.

When a complaint is logged at Stage 1 or escalated to Stage 2 our acknowledgement letter will set out our understanding of the complaint and the outcomes the resident is seeking. If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, we will seek clarification. We will be clear in our acknowledgement of the complaint which aspects of the complaint we are, and are not, responsible for.

All acknowledgement, holding and formal response letters will inform the complainant of their right to access the Housing Ombudsman Service, and how they can engage with them.

If we cannot agree on an extension to the timescales we need, the complainant can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service to discuss the timescale for managing the complaint. Please see below for details for the Housing Ombudsman Service.

Complaint Handling Code self assessment form – March 2024

Complaints Policy – Approved March 2024