Complaints process
Stage 1
During this stage we will -
- acknowledge and record your complaint within 5 working days of receipt
- set out our understanding of the complaint, the outcome that you are seeking and which aspects we are responsible for
- contact you to ensure that we fully understand the issue (defining your complaint). If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, we will ask you for further clarification
- aim to fully investigate the complaint and send a full written response within 10 working days of us sending the acknowledgement letter
- write to you and let you know if we need more time
- explain why we need more time and when you can expect our response, any extension will be for no more than 10 working days without good reason
- include details for the Housing Ombudsman Service, who you can approach should we exceed the timescales
- contact you to agree a suitable interval for providing updates if we are unable to complete our investigation within the extended timeframe
- ensure that if you contact us with any additional, related complaints or comments,these are incorporated into the stage 1 investigation and response if this has not already been issued
Where the stage 1 response has been issued, the new issues are unrelated to the issues already being investigated or it would unreasonably delay the response, the new issues will be logged as a new complaint. When you have received our full response, if you are happy or if we do not hear from you within 28 days we will close the complaint.
Stage 2
If you are not happy you can ask for your complaint to be escalated to stage 2, where it will be reviewed by a senior manager. You do not have to give us any reasons to escalate your complaint, however if you can, it will help us to understand why you remain dissatisfied.
During stage 2 we will -
- acknowledge, reopen and record your complaint within 5 working days of receipt
- set out our understanding of the complaint, the outcome that you are seeking and which aspects we are responsible for
- contact you to ensure that we fully understand the issue
- ask you for further clarification if any aspect of the complaint is unclear
- aim to fully investigate the complaint and send a full written response within 20 working days of us sending the acknowledgement letter.
- if we need more time, explain why we need this and when you can expect your response, any extension will be for no more than 20 working days without good reason
- include details for the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS), who you can approach should we exceed the timescales
If we are unable to complete our investigation within the extended timeframe, we will contact you to agree a suitable interval for providing updates. The stage 2 decision letter will be our final response and will include details of how to escalate your complaint to the (HOS).
All stage 1 and stage 2 responses will be provided when the answer to the complaint is known, not when any outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. We will keep you updated with the progress of any outstanding actions.
After the Complaints process has finished
You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) to ask them to review your complaint.
The HOS investigates most complaints about the Council's role as a Landlord.
Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 1484
Unit D
Preston
PR2 0ET
You can also telephone 0300 111 3000 or visit the Housing Ombudsman Website.
You can approach the Ombudsman at any time during your complaint for help and advice.
As a tenant complaining about the Council landlord services, you can also contact -
- your local independent Tenants’ Complaint Panel
- Citizens Advice Bureau
- Building Safety Regulator