Housing Ombudsman Complaints Code Self Assessment

What the Housing Ombudsman requires us to do

We must:

• Offer different ways to make a complaint, including by phone, in writing, email, online, live chat, and in person.
• Make sure that all our colleagues understand the complaints process and how to make sure it reaches the right person in the organisation.
• Make sure our complaint policy is clear and accessible.
• Make sure it is easy to find information about making a complaint and complaints performance on our website.
• Offer reasonable adjustments to help you to make a complaint.
• Signpost our complaints Policy and process, the Complaint Handling Code, the Housing Ombudsman service, and contact details in leaflets, posters, newsletters, online, and letters.
• Make sure that you understand your right to:
  • Access the Housing Ombudsman service at any stage.
  • Have a representative deal with your complaint on your behalf.
  • Be represented or accompanied at any meeting with us.

How we comply

We:

• Publish clear and accessible information on how to make a complaint and your rights on our website, newsletters, and leaflets.
• Offer alternative formats such as Easy Read, clear print, audio, and captioned video.
• Have policies for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Complaints and feedback and Reasonable Adjustments.
• Hold regular ‘learning from complaints’ forums.
• When we write to you about your complaint, make sure you know how to escalate it to the Housing Ombudsman.

Click here if you like to make a complaint or compliments.

What the Housing Ombudsman requires us to do

We must:

• Have a dedicated Complaints Team who is responsible for managing complaints overall. 
• Make sure our Complaints Team has the authority to handle complaints promptly and fairly.
• Make sure our colleagues understand how to handle complaints and how they can help us deliver better services.

How we comply

We:

• Have a dedicated and specialist team to manage complaints, who work closely with employees at all levels of the organisation, and support with training.

Have an Executive Director and Board member accountable for handling complaints.

Our Complaints Team will handle complaints on their merits, act independently, and always give you a fair chance to explain your position. They are committed to addressing any actual or perceived conflict of interest and will consider all relevant information and evidence carefully and openly.

We follow a two-stage complaints process. You can find out how our two-stage process complies with the Code here.

What we are required to do

We must:

• Have a single policy for dealing with complaints covered by the Code.
• Treat anyone making a complaint in the same way.
• Make sure that our complaints process is consistent and straightforward and doesn’t involve any more than two stages.
• Make sure that any third parties handle complaints in line with the Code.
• Set out:
  • Our understanding of your complaint.
  • What aspects of your complaint we are – and are not - responsible for.
  • Our understanding of how you would like us to resolve your complaint.
• Keep you informed about your complaint if it falls outside of our timescales.
• Always escalate a complaint through all stages of the complaints procedure unless we have valid and compliant reasons.
• Keep a full record of the complaint and outcomes at each stage.
• Be able to remedy a complaint at any stage without needing escalation.
• Have policies and procedures for managing unacceptable behaviour from residents and their representatives.

How we comply

We:

• Have a single Policy that explains our two-stage complaints process and how we handle complaints consistently and fairly.
• Will attempt to resolve your issue when you first contact us, but we will make sure that this does not delay your complaint's progress through the formal process.
• Will share our understanding of your complaint and how you would like it resolved when we write to you.
• Have policies and procedures to manage Unacceptable Behaviour and Reasonable Adjustments.
• Record any correspondence or contact related to your complaint on our systems.

What the Housing Ombudsman requires us to do

We must:

• Acknowledge where something has gone wrong and set out the actions we have already taken or how we intend to take to fix it.
• Make sure that where we are at fault, any remedy we offer reflects any impact on you and considers the guidance issued by the Ombudsman.
• Set out what we do to remedy the situation.
• Follow any remedy proposed through to completion.
• Publish accessible information on our website about how well we are managing complaints, including:
  • Annual complaints performance and annual service improvement report.
  • Our board's response to our report.
  • Our Housing Ombudsman Code self-assessment.

How we comply

We:

• Monitor any actions that we have promised to take to put things right.
• Consider an issue's impact on you and follow the Housing Ombudsman's guidance on appropriate remedies.
• Explain in our Policy how we will offer goodwill or compensation when we need to put things right.
• Report to the board every quarter and publish an annual self-assessment, complaints performance and service improvement report on our website.

What the Housing Ombudsman requires us to do

We must:

• Consider whether we can improve services by learning from the complaint.
• Report to stakeholders, such as tenant groups, colleagues, and relevant committees, on wider learning and improvements from complaints.
• Appoint both a senior leader and board member to be accountable for handling our complaints.
• Make sure we have a collaborative, cooperative and constructive approach to resolving complaints.

How we comply

We:

• Hold quarterly meetings with our Customer Feedback Coordinator, Heads of Service and senior leads to review complaints and lessons learned.
• Report any lessons learned to the board and our tenant forums.
• The Executive Director is the senior complaint lead and meets with the Customer Feedback Coordinator quarterly.
• Appointed two Board members and a member of the Executive Team as a lead responsible for complaints.
• Make sure all our colleagues receive training and guidance on resolving complaints.