Formal complaints process
When things go wrong – how to make a complaint
Your comments are important to us. If you are unhappy with a service we provide, we want to know so we can put things right and avoid it happening again. So please do get in touch with us.
What does the complaints procedure cover?
A complaint is when you tell us you are unhappy:
- With the level of service we have provided
- About the attitude or behaviour of members of our staff or contractor
- With a decision we have made
- Because you feel we did not follow our policy when making a decision.
Who can complain?
Anyone using our services can make a complaint. This includes tenants, leaseholders or anyone who pays us a service charge. It also includes people who have applied to us for housing, support or another service. Making a complaint or comment will not affect the way we treat you in future.
What does the complaints procedure not cover?
We will not normally use our complaints procedure to investigate concerns about what type of services we provide. But we do want to know your views. If you think we could do more to help our residents, please let us know. In addition, we:
- May refuse to deal with a complaint if it is made unreasonably. We may also deal with your complaint differently from the complaints procedure if a director or senior manager decides to do so. In such cases we will send you a written explanation of our decision
- We will normally only deal with complaints that are made within six months of the event complained about
- We will deal with complaints about anti-social behaviour under the special policy we have for this. If later you do not believe we have followed our procedure, please let us know.
How can I make a complaint?
You can make a complaint by ringing us, writing to us, e-mailing us, visiting us at our offices, by telling a member of staff, or online via the form on this website. See the Customer Services - Contact Us page for all contact details.
When you make your complaint, please tell us the facts and say what you want us to do to solve the problem.
Can I get help in making a complaint?
If you need help to make a complaint, you can ask a friend, your residents association, the Citizens Advice Bureau, an environmental health officer at the council, or your local councillor. You can also give permission to another person, in writing, to deal with the complaint on your behalf.
We will be happy to help you outline your concerns or to provide you with access to other help, such as Braille or translation services. We can help you to find an advocate who can help you through the complaint process.
How will my complaint be dealt with?
We aim to deal with your complaint quickly, thoroughly and fairly. At all stages, we will acknowledge your complaint within two working days of receiving it.
- We aim to give you a full reply within 10 working days.
- If enquiries take longer, we will write and let you know and tell you when you can expect a reply.
- We will explain our decisions and we will apologise if we have made a mistake.
- We will investigate your complaint thoroughly before responding to you in writing
- We will aim to find a satisfactory solution and in some cases this may include compensation
- We may suggest that we meet you to discuss the problem, but we will also give you a response in writing and tell you what to do if you are still not satisfied.
- We report regularly on complaints to management and area panels to help us review and improve the way we do things.
How does the complaints procedure work?
Our procedure is in three stages and we aim to put things right at the first stage wherever possible.
Stage 1 - The investigating officer will make sure they do everything they can to help you. The exception to this is if you complain about the behaviour of a member of staff. In this case, your complaint will be dealt with by that person's line manager.
Stage 2 - If you are not satisfied with the reply you receive, you must let us know within 15 working days and this will move your complaint to Stage 2. At this stage your complaint will be dealt with by an appropriate manager.
Stage 3 - If you are not satisfied with the Stage 2 response, you have 15 working days to ask for the complaint to move to the next stage. Stage 3 is a hearing by a complaints panel. The panel is made up of three area panel members, including at least one panel member who is a resident. We will send you information explaining how the hearing is organised. You will be able to attend to put your case to the panel. You can take a friend or relative for support if you wish. A representative can also attend on your behalf. The panel will write to give you their final decision within 10 working days of their meeting.
If you want to take legal action, a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau can advise you. But if you decide to take legal action while we are investigating your complaint, we will stop investigating your concerns through our complaints procedure.
For more information on our complaints process or for a leaflet, please contact us
Housing Ombudsman Service
If you feel your complaint has not been resolved after going through all stages, you can refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. This is an independent scheme set up by the government to make sure that housing associations act fairly and reasonably. The Ombudsman will only consider complaints once all stages of a housing association's formal complaints procedure have been completed. Their address is:
Housing Ombudsman Service
81 Aldwych
London WC2B 4HN
