Our Complaints Process
We aim to provide the highest standards of service, despite these efforts there may be occasions when you feel dissatisfied with the service we provide. We welcome your feedback. This provides us with the opportunity to work with you, to tell us what you feel went wrong, enabling us to work with you to help put things right and rebuild your trust. To ensure that your interests are safeguarded, in cases where you feel this expectation has not been fulfilled, we ask for any complaints to be submitted via the complaints process set out below.
We’ll use your feedback and comments to improve our services and customer experience.
Our complaints process is designed to ensure you know how to make a complaint and we respond consistently, fairly and sensitively to your concerns.
We follow the Housing Ombudsman’s definition of a complaint as:
‘an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.’
We want to make it clear that you do not need to use the word complaint for us to treat it as such.
Sometimes, we receive service requests from you, these are requests from you requiring action to be taken to put something right which has not been raised to us previously. Below are a few examples of service request:
- Contractor has not arrived on the agreed time.
- Customers calling to report a repair.
- Customers calling regarding a missed appointment.
When this happens, we will contact you and advise on which service area or team will be resolving this service request and when you can expect resolution.
As part of our approach, we will always attempt to speak to you over the phone, unless you have requested an alternative method of communication.
We aim to provide the highest standards of service, in cases where you feel this expectation has not been fulfilled, any complaints can be submitted to us by writing, emailing or calling us. Please ensure that you provide us with all your contact details so we can get back to you:
> Writing to our Complaints department at the following address below:
Amber Housing
Unit 9 Bourne Court
Southend Road
Woodford Green
IG8 8HD
> Alternatively, you may email: Complaints@amberhousing.co.uk
By Phoning us on: 020 8502 3933
Effective complaint handling enables your views to be heard and understood. Our Staff have effective complaint handling skills to ensure that the complaints handling works well. Our complaint handlers are:
- able to act sensitively and fairly.
- trained to handle complaints and deal with distressed and upset customers.
- have access to staff at all levels to facilitate quick resolution of complaints.
- have the authority and autonomy to act to resolve disputes quickly and fairly.
We have a simple two stage process, if you are not happy with our initial response to your complaint then you may escalate to our second and final stage which is an appeal stage. We aim to resolve your complaint within 10 working days at stage one of the process.
Stage one
You’ll hear from our Customer Resolution Officer/Manager within five working days of receiving your complaint. We’ll confirm the date you’ll receive a formal response to your complaint.
We aim to resolve all complaints at stage one, but, if we can’t resolve your complaint immediately, we will provide an explanation as to why and the date on which you can expect to receive a response.
When we do provide a response, and if you’re unhappy with our resolution offered in the first stage, you can request an appeal. This is stage two of our complaints process. Simply just tell your Customer Resolution Officer/Manager that you wish to escalate your complaint to the next stage and why.
Stage two
Stage two is used when you’re unhappy with the resolution offered at stage one.
Your stage two complaint will be reviewed by a manager or senior team member who has not previously been involved in the complaint or directly responsible for the service provided. This is so they can provide an impartial review of your complaint.
We will respond to the stage two complaint within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated. Exceptionally, we may provide an explanation to you containing a clear timeframe for when the response will be received. This will not exceed a further 10 working days without good reason.
To download our full Complaints Policy: CLICK HERE
Making a Complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service
If you remain dissatisfied after Stage 2 then you can ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to investigate. The role of the Housing Ombudsman is to resolve complaints when customers feel the outcome is unfair. You can contact the Housing Ombudsman at any given point throughout the life of a complaint. They can be contacted by:
- Phone on: 0300 111 3000
- By emailing at: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
- By post at: Housing Ombudsman Service. P.O. Box 152 Liverpool L33 7WQ
View the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code on the following link: The Housing ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)