Complaint Handling Code 2024

Compliments and complaints - what to do when things go wrong (peaksplains.org)  

Complaints policy 

Landlords must have a single policy in place for dealing with complaints covered by this Code. Residents must not be treated differently if they complain.    

The early and local resolution of issues between landlords and residents is key to effective complaint handling. It is not appropriate to have extra named stages (such as ‘stage 0’ or ‘informal complaint’) as this causes unnecessary confusion.    

A process with more than two stages is not acceptable under any circumstances as this will make the complaint process unduly long and delay access to the Ombudsman.  

Where a landlord’s complaint response is handled by a third party (e.g. a contractor or independent adjudicator) at any stage, it must form part of the two stage complaints process set out in this Code. Residents must not be expected to go through two complaints processes. 

Landlords are responsible for ensuring that any third parties handle complaints in line with the Code.  

When a complaint is logged at Stage 1 or escalated to Stage 2, landlords must set out their understanding of the complaint and the outcomes the resident is seeking. The Code will refer to this as “the complaint definition”. If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, the resident must be asked for clarification.   

When a complaint is acknowledged at either stage, landlords must be clear which aspects of the complaint they are, and are not, responsible for and clarify any areas where this is not clear.   

At each stage of the complaints process, complaint handlers must:    

Our values guide how we operate:   

Where a response to a complaint will fall outside the timescales set out in this Code, the landlord must agree with the resident suitable intervals for keeping them informed about their complaint.

Landlords must make reasonable adjustments for residents where appropriate under the Equality Act 2010. Landlords must keep a record of any reasonable adjustments agreed, as well as a record of any disabilities a resident has disclosed. Any agreed reasonable adjustments must be kept under active review.    

Landlords must not refuse to escalate a complaint through all stages of the complaints procedure unless it has valid reasons to do so. Landlords must clearly set out these reasons, and they must comply with the provisions set out in section 2 of this Code. 

A full record must be kept of the complaint, and the outcomes at each stage. This must include the original complaint and the date received, all correspondence with the resident, correspondence with other parties, and any relevant supporting documentation such as reports or surveys.   

All case records are held on our CRM and all relevant documentation regarding the case will be stored in online files. In late 2024, all complaints workflows will be within our CRM system and will detail relevant information including: 

Landlords must have processes in place to ensure a complaint can be remedied at any stage of its complaints process. Landlords must ensure appropriate remedies can be provided at any stage of the complaints process without the need for escalation.

Staff receive ongoing training to ensure that a complaint is remedied at the earliest time with no delays to the customer where possible.  

Landlords must have policies and procedures in place for managing unacceptable behaviour from residents and/or their representatives. Landlords must be able to evidence reasons for putting any restrictions in place and must keep restrictions under regular review.  

The Trust has an Unacceptable Behaviour policy which is approved by The Trusts involved tenants/Challenge Group and the Board and is published on our website. The policy clearly outlines our approach to managing unacceptable behaviour.

Any restrictions placed on contact due to unacceptable behaviour must be proportionate and demonstrate regard for the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.   

This approach is considered and detailed in the EDI and Unacceptable Behaviour policies. 

Complaints Stages

Landlords must have processes in place to consider which complaints can be responded to as early as possible, and which require further investigation. Landlords must consider factors such as the complexity of the complaint and whether the resident is vulnerable or at risk. Most stage 1 complaints can be resolved promptly, and an explanation, apology or resolution provided to the resident.

Contacts are triaged by Customer Experience team and the Complaints Coordinator to ensure the issue is logged accordingly. All staff are empowered to resolve complaints as early as possible.  

Complaints must be acknowledged, defined and logged at stage 1 of the complaints procedure within five working days of the complaint being received.   

All complaints are acknowledged within 5 working days of receiving the complaint by the Complaints team but usually much quicker than this timescale.   

Landlords must issue a full response to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.    

Landlords must decide whether an extension to this timescale is needed when considering the complexity of the complaint and then inform the resident of the expected timescale for response. Any extension must be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and the reason(s) must be clearly explained to the resident.  

When an organisation informs a resident about an extension to these timescales, they must be provided with the contact details of the Ombudsman. 

A complaint response must be provided to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. Outstanding actions must still be tracked and actioned promptly with appropriate updates provided to the resident.     

Landlords must address all points raised in the complaint definition and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate.   

Where residents raise additional complaints during the investigation, these must be incorporated into the stage 1 response if they are related and the stage 1 response has not 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 must be logged as a new complaint.   

The Trust recognise that it is important to offer an apology early on in the process when something has gone wrong. 

There are a number of ways in which the Trust will offer an apology and remedy including: 

Training has been provided to staff to ensure that they take in to consideration the impact of any fault/s on the customer. The Ombudsman’s remedies guide is considered to decide on relevant amounts for monetary amounts.

Where possible, the Trust will provide dates to complete any actions within the response letter. If this is not possible, it is the responsibility of the Investigation Officer to monitor and keep in touch with the customer. The ongoing project to have all complaints cases and outstanding tasks will be complete by the end of 2024 when all outstanding promises will be logged on the CRM system.

The Trusts policy takes account of the guidance issued by the Ombudsman and is used when considering remedies. The Trust also use the ‘Remedies and Compensation guidance’ issued by the Ombudsman.  

The Trusts produces quarterly and annual reports which include a thorough review of performance and learning outcomes. Quarterly reports are reviewed by the Executive Team and the annual report is reviewed by the Board.

The quarterly and annual reports are reviewed by the Trust’s Customer Challenge Group. From June 2024, the Trust will share the annual report with the Ombudsman and on the Trust website which has been approved by our governing body.

The Trusts produces quarterly and annual reports which include a thorough review of performance and learning outcomes. Quarterly reports are reviewed by the Executive Team and the annual report is reviewed by the Board.

The quarterly and annual reports are reviewed by the Trust’s Customer Challenge Group. From June 2024, the Trust will share the annual report with the Ombudsman and on the Trust website which has been reviewed by our governing body.

Since 2020, the Trust have completed the self-assessment annually. In the case of significant changes, we will review and publish the re-assessed version.   

The Trust will review and update the form following any request from the Ombudsman.   

The Complaints team will notify the Ombudsman if any exceptional circumstances occur.   

Staff and Managers receive complaints training, which is supported by the guidance provided in the complaints policy, procedure and compensation policy. Complaints are used as a tool to identify learning opportunities.

The Trust records lessons learned from all upheld complaints. Trends of root causes of complaints are shared with Senior Management on a monthly basis within the performance management pack and at the performance management groups monthly meeting. 

Updates are provided to Board, Senior Management and the Customer Challenge group regularly. Complaints have been discussed with customers in our recent consultation about this self-assessment, providing an opportunity to give feedback about our processes. Learning is also detailed on reports and our website.

The complaints team consist of a Customer Services Manager and Complaints Coordinator.

The Head of Customer Improvement and Experience is responsible for identifying any themes or trends which pin point potential systemic issues, serious risks, or policies and procedures that require revision.   

The Trust have an appointed MCR from the Board. The MCR meets with the Customer Services Manager on quarterly basis.  

All complaints performance including Ombudsman determinations are reported to the MRC and the Board.  

All complaints performance including Ombudsman determinations are reported to the MRC and the Board on a regular basis throughout the year. 

The Trust’s purpose is to ‘be a great landlord’ and all staff are empowered to ‘do the right thing, even when no one is looking’ which guides the actions of Trust staff. Our guiding values underpin our business wide approach of providing excellent customer service and  encourages and supports colleagues to work collaboratively. This approach ensures the best outcomes for customers.

We uphold the highest standards in complaint handling and amend our approach to reflect best practice. All staff are responsible for their awareness of the complaints policy and procedure and have received training. The Trust have a standard objective on personal development plans (PDP) of all staff responsible for complaint investigations. In September 24, the remainder of staff will also have this on their PDP.