Corporate Complaints Policy

What is a complaint

A service request is a request from a resident to their landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right. Service requests are not complaints, but will be recorded, monitored and reviewed regularly.

The Council will raise a complaint when a resident expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request, even if the handling of the service request remains ongoing. The Council will not stop any efforts to address the service request if a resident complains.

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

A customer may express dissatisfaction because:

• the Council failed to provide a service
• the standards of the service were not acceptable
• the Council provided the service in an unfair or discriminatory manner

Complaints relating to a third party (e.g. a contractor working on behalf of the Council) will be handled in line with the Housing Ombudsman's complaint handling code.

Complaints relating to the council's role as social landlord will be dealt with in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code.   (opens new window)

A complaint that is submitted by a third party or representative will also be handled in line with the Council's complaints policy.

A complaint can be resolved at any time during the following two stages.  

Stage one - investigation of the complaint   

• When a complaint is made, it must be acknowledged and logged at stage one of the complaints procedure within five days of receipt.
• A response must be provided to the complaint within 10 working days of the complaint being logged or, exceptionally, an explanation containing a clear timeframe for when the response will be received which should not exceed a further 10 days without good reason should be provided.
• An extension beyond 20 working days to enable the landlord to respond to the complaint fully, should be agreed by both parties and if it is not agreed, the Housing Ombudsman's contact details should be provided to the complainant.
• A complaint response must be sent to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue, are completed. 
• Additional complaints raised during the investigation should be incorporated into the stage one response if they are relevant. If the stage one response has been issued, or it would unreasonably delay the response, the complaint should be logged as a new complaint. 
• Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage one in clear, plain language: 
  • the complaint stage 
  • the complaint definition 
  • the decision on the complaint 
  • the reasons for any decisions made 
  • the details of any remedy offered to put things right 
  • details of any outstanding actions 
  • details of how to escalate the matter to stage two if the resident is not satisfied   with the answer

If they are still unhappy, they can request a review of their complaint by the Chief Executive. This must be done within 10 working days of receiving the results.

Stage 2 - Review of the Complaint 

If a complainant is still dissatisfied after stage one, the complaint will be escalated to stage 2 of the complaints process. An independent and impartial review will be conducted into both the handling and outcome of the complaint and a full response will be provided to the complainant within twenty working days. However, this time period may be extended because of the complexity of the complaint.

If the Council declines to escalate a complaint we will set out in writing our reasons and the resident's right to approach the Housing Ombudsman about our decision. Reasons for refusing to escalate a complaint include:

• the issue giving rise to the complaint occurred over 12 months ago
• 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
• matters that have previously been considered under the complaints policy

The stage 2 response to a complaint is the Council's final response and will involve all relevant staff members required to issue the response.

The resident does not have to explain their reasons for requesting an escalation to stage 2 of the complaints process, but the Council will make reasonable efforts to understand why the resident remains unhappy with the response to their complaint.

When the Council has finished considering a complaint it will tell complainants how they can pursue their complaint with the Housing Ombudsman.

• Landlords must only escalate a complaint to stage two once it has completed stage one and at the request of the resident.
• The person considering the complaint at stage two, must not be the same person that considered the complaint at stage one.
• Landlords must acknowledge the stage 2 complaint within 5 working days of the escalation request being received
• Landlords must respond to the stage two complaint within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated or, exceptionally, an explanation containing a clear timeframe for when the response will be received which should not exceed a further 20 days without good reason should be provided
• A complaint response must be sent to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue, are completed.
• Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage two in clear, plain language:
  • the complaint stage
  • the complaint definition
  • the decision on the complaint
  • the reasons for any decisions made
  • the details of any remedy offered to put things right
  • details of any outstanding actions and
  • details of how to escalate the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service if the resident remains dissatisfied

The Housing Ombudsman Service

The Housing Ombudsman Service is set up by law to look at complaints about housing organisations that are registered with the service, including housing associations and local authorities.

Residents can contact the Housing Ombudsman at any point during the complaint process. The assistance they can offer depends on whether the landlord's complaints procedure has been completed and when.

If a resident has received a response from their landlord but remains dissatisfied with the outcome, the Housing Ombudsman can discuss the options and help residents identify the most appropriate action.

How to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service

• See the website at www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk (opens new window)
• Call on 0300 111 3000
• Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
• Write to the Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ