How to make a complaint

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This policy outlines the process that Agamemnon Housing Association will use to manage complaints. It is owned and agreed by the Board of Management on recommendation of the People & Culture Committee (PAC) working with the Chief Executive Office, who is responsible for day-to-day operational compliance. It will be reviewed in line with the Board’s policy schedule and changes in external regulations.

We recognise that from time-to-time things go wrong. We encourage issues to be raised quickly so that the matter can be put right and resolved informally. If that does not work this policy explains how to make a complaint and how it will be handled. We are committed to ensuring that all complaints are handled fairly, recorded appropriately and that any issues are rectified. We welcome feedback and will always seek to make improvements based on these. Complaints are viewed as a means of improvement and are welcomed as an opportunity to resolve dissatisfaction and to improve our services. We recognise that the word complaint does not have to be used for it to be treated as such.

• Complaints will be dealt with impartially, objectively, and professionally. We look to resolve a complaint in the most efficient way and provide excellent tenant service.
• Complaints are easy to make and that the process is understood by our tenants and others that may want to make a complaint such as an advocate, friend or family member or any third-party person. Where representatives are involved data sharing consent will be required from the tenant.
• Making a complaint will not adversely affect the way in which a complainant is treated by us. If legal proceedings are involved, we may suspend the complaint pending conclusion of that process.

Our complaint policy is aligned to the Complaints Handling Code by the Housing Ombudsman Service. We benchmark procedures against the Housing Ombudsman code to provide the best practice in this area.

The complaint definition provided by the Housing Ombudsman is “an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the Association, its own colleagues, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual tenant or group of tenants.”

The service request definition provided is ‘a request from a tenant to their landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right’. When we receive feedback, we will ask how we can put matters right and aim to resolve issues outside of our complaints process. We will confirm if the feedback is a complaint or service request, as a request for action is not a complaint.

• In writing by post: Complaints, Agamemnon Housing Association, Agamemnon House, Lindisfarne Close, Portsmouth PO6 2SB.
• Verbally to a Court Manager or member of the Tenant Support Team or via telephone: 02392 387 086
• In writing by email: enquires@agamemnon.org.uk

The Court Manager or Tenant Support Team will give an initial response to the complainant where possible and pass the complaint to the designated Manager to address to ensure confidentiality and privacy is maintained.

There are two stages to the complaint’s process:

• Stage one: Investigated and responded to by designated manager.
• Stage two: Investigated and responded to by a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) external to the service area of the complaint.

• Complaint acknowledged, defined, and logged within 5 working days of receipt.
• The designated Manager will make contact to discuss the complaint area and desired outcome.
• A complaint investigation and response will be completed within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. If it is not possible to resolve the complaint within that time, we will contact the tenant.
• The response will detail the outcome of the investigation, if the complaint is upheld or not upheld and any action taken to resolve the complaint.
• If the complaint is upheld, it means we fully acknowledge and confirm its validity. We will then outline the actions we will implement in response to the complaint and any lessons learnt.
• If the complaint is not upheld, we will explain why. A complainant can ask for a review to escalate to Stage 2 if they are not satisfied with the outcome. A request for review should be sent to the designated Manager within 10 days of the complaint response.

If a tenant requests escalation to Stage 2 the request is acknowledged, defined and logged within 5 working days of escalation request being received by the designated Manager.

The acknowledgement letter will include the name of the colleague from the Senior Leadership Team who will be investigating Stage 2.

They will contact the complainant to understand what outcome they would like to see. An investigation and response to the stage two complaint will be sent within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated.

If complainant is dissatisfied with the stage 2 response, they can contact their local Citizens Advice Bureau for support.

Complaints may not be considered if:

• The complaint issue occurred over twelve months ago.
• Legal proceedings are involved, we may suspend the complaint pending conclusion of that process.
• Complaint matters have previously been considered under the complaints policy.

Important – this policy does not apply to complaints about neighbour’s or other tenants, which will be dealt with by other internal procedures.

We are members of the Housing Ombudsman scheme, and if a tenant feels that we have not resolved a complaint there is an independent body who can assess how we have dealt with the concerns raised. The Ombudsman will not consider all types of complaint, and you will need to be a tenant of the Association. Further information, useful guides on the services that the Ombudsman offers can be found on their website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Housing Ombudsman Services
PO Box 152
Liverpool
L33 7WQ

Telephone: 0300 111 3000
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk

When our investigation identifies a failure in or service we will use our findings to improve services in the future.