Putting things right
We aim to provide you with the best service but we recognise that sometimes things can go wrong. If this happens, we want to hear from you so that we can make sure we put things right as soon as possible and improve the way we deliver services to all of our customers.
How to raise a complaint
Our complaints process
There may be instances where a service request can be resolved ‘there and then’ without the need to enter the complaints system. Examples of where this may be possible include, a missed appointment or a delay in providing a response which can aften be resolved with an apology and provision of another appointment or information. We will deal with these under our Service Provision Recovery process (SPR). We aim to agree a resolution with you within 1 working day. If we are unable to do this or you do not want to engage in SPR your complaint will be logged formally. We will not treat customers who make complaints any differently from other customers.
We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days. Your complaint will be assigned to a senior manager not previously involved with the complaint; we will tell you who this person is. You will then receive a call from us to discuss your complaint, unless you have requested no telephone contact.
We will provide you with our final decision within 20 working days. If this is not possible, we will give you the reason for the delay and agree an extension date. This will not usually be more than an additional 20 working days.
Our final decision letter will confirm that you have reached the end of our internal complaints process and make you aware of your options if you remain dissatisfied with that decision.
You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service for advice at any time during our internal complaints process www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk or 0300 111 3000. They usually accept complaints for formal investigations once you have exhausted our internal complaints process.
Even if you decide to refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman, we would still be very happy to continue to try to resolve your complaint in the meantime.
The Housing Ombudsman does not consider all complaints and you may need to refer your complaint to another body.
Complaints about care services should be referred to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) (www.lgo.org.uk; 0300 061 0614); or to the Care Quality Commission www.cqc.org.uk or 0300 0616161). Please note that the Commission does not deal with complaints from customers directly; it simply takes these into account in planning its inspection programme.
We will co-operate fully with the relevant Ombudsman Service during any investigation and comply fully with the resulting decision, which will be binding on us.
Complaints about Building Safety
Any complaints regarding the safety of a building can be directed to the Building Safety Regulator - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) or by calling 0300 790 6787.
Your questions answered
Yes, we will arrange for someone to call you to discuss your complaint.
We will respond within 10 working days at Stage 1 and 20 working days at Stage 2. If we cannot do this, we will let you know the reasons why and agree a new deadline with you.
If you consider your complaint remains unresolved you can refer it to the Housing Ombudsman Service for consideration. We are keen to resolve your complaint so, if you think we may have missed something, you can call us to discuss further.
Yes. You will need to let us know in writing that you authorise this person to act on your behalf.