Complaints policy

This policy explains how we handle complaints.

The complaints process

We operate a two-stage process for complaints managed under this process.

We do not operate an informal complaints process and will formally log any complaint that meets our definition.

Where possible, we will try and resolve your complaint as quickly as possible, so that we provide an agreed solution without delay, in accordance with the principles of quick resolution as set out in this policy.

Stage 1

Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge, define, and log your complaint within 5 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays) of it being received by us. Complaints received after 5pm Monday to Friday will be treated as received the next working day.

Our acknowledgement will include our understanding of your complaint, the outcomes you are seeking, and the parts we are and are not responsible for.

Before we send our acknowledgement, we will usually attempt to contact you to confirm our understanding of your complaint and the outcome you are seeking. This is to enable quick resolution where proportionate and to reduce the need for a full investigation. This contact will not delay our acknowledgement, which will still be sent within five working days of us receiving your complaint.

If we need further information to understand your complaint, we will try to clarify this with you either verbally or in writing. If we are unable to obtain further information, we will still provide a stage 1 response based on the information available to us. If you are dissatisfied with our stage 1 response, you can ask for your complaint to be escalated to stage 2.

If we believe that your complaint should instead be handled as a service request, we will forward your complaint to the relevant service area and not progress your complaint further. If we later decide that the service request should instead be handled as a complaint, we will then acknowledge your complaint. The timescales for responding to the complaint in this instance will run from the date we identified the complaint, rather than the date the initial service request was received.

If we don’t accept your complaint for any reason, we will explain why and give you information about your right to take our decision not to investigate to the Ombudsman or the Building Safety Regulator and provide the relevant contact details.

If we accept your complaint, we will advise who will respond to your complaint and when you can expect a response by.

If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else (e.g., a carer, advocate, solicitor), we will:

still acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days
request appropriate consent or legal authority for you to act on behalf of the person affected, unless you have already provided this
put the process on hold until we receive the relevant consent or authority

If consent is not received within a reasonable period (normally 20 working days), we may close your complaint, but we will inform you of this and give you a final opportunity to provide consent before closure.

Investigating your complaint

If after contacting you to discuss your complaint, we come to a resolution that resolves your complaint, we will send a stage 1 response setting out the outcome of our investigation and the resolution you have agreed will provide the outcome you are seeking.

Should you later not be satisfied with the outcome or have any further reasons to complaint about the same issue, you can escalate your complaint to stage 2 of our complaints process for investigation.

If your complaint can’t be resolved quickly we may conduct a more detailed investigation. This may require us collating evidence and arranging interviews with you and any staff involved.

We will gather evidence proportionately, including call recordings or contemporaneous telephone notes, relevant emails, letters and case records, or witness statements from you, staff and any third parties. When there are differing accounts, we will document balanced notes and explain how we reached our conclusions.

Our stage 1 response will set out whether we think we were at fault and the actions we will take to remedy that fault.

Timeframe

In all cases, we will send our stage 1 response within 10 working days of us formally acknowledging your complaint.

If we think we will need more time to carry out a full investigation, we will explain why and give a new target date for when you can expect our response. This will be no more than a further 10 working days.

If any additional time is required and we can’t agree an extension with you, we will provide the contact details of the relevant ombudsman service for you to pass your complaint to.

If we can’t complete the investigation of your complaint within the timescales allowed for within the Complaints Handling Code, we will contact you to apologise and agree suitable intervals with you, for keeping you updated on the progress of our investigation.

Additional issues

If you raise any additional issues that are related to your complaint during our investigation and we have not yet sent our stage 1 response, we will incorporate these into our stage 1 response.

If we have already sent our stage 1 response, or it would unreasonably delay the response, or the new issues are not related to your existing complaint, we will log this as a new complaint and send a new acknowledgement.

Stage 2

If you are not satisfied with our stage 1 response, you can ask for the complaint to be escalated to stage 2.

You must request escalation within one calendar month of the date of our Stage 1 response. We will consider any extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

You do not need to explain why you want your complaint escalated to stage 2, but it will help us understand what you don’t agree with and the remedy you are seeking to resolve your complaint. We may log any new issues you raise as a new stage 1 complaint instead.

Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge, define and log your request to escalate to Stage 2 within 5 working days of receipt. Our acknowledgement will include our understanding of your complaint, the outcomes you are seeking, and the parts we are and are not responsible for.

The officer handling your Stage 2 complaint will be different from the Stage 1 officer.

If they don’t accept your request, they will explain why and signpost you to the relevant Ombudsman.

No change to outcome

At stage 2, we will review the stage 1 response, the information you have provided, any information from the relevant service, and any new information you provide. Our stage 2 response will explain the outcome of that review and signpost you to the relevant Ombudsman should you wish to escalate your complaint further.

Investigation

If we believe a further investigation is warranted, we will complete a further investigation which will review the stage 1 response, the information you have provided, information from the relevant service, and any new information you provide.

Timeframe

In all cases, we will send our stage 2 response within 20 working days after we acknowledge your complaint at stage 2.

If we think we will need more time to carry out a full investigation, we will explain why and agree a new target date with you. This will be no more than a further 20 working days. If we can’t agree an extension with you, we will provide the contact details of the relevant ombudsman service for you to pass your complaint to.

The ombudsmen

The stage 2 response will set out our final position.

If you think your complaint has not been dealt with properly or fairly, you can request for the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), the Housing Ombudsman (HO), or the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to consider your complaint. The LGSCO and the HO are fully independent of local councils and are answerable to parliament. The BSR is an Executive Agency under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The ombudsmen promote a positive complaints culture and the progressive use of complaints to support effective handling and prevention, alongside learning and development.

Our stage 2 response will include the contact details for the relevant ombudsman or the BSR as each deal with different issues.

You can pass your complaint to them at any time, although they will usually refer your complaint to us if you have not completed our internal complaints process.