Making A Complaint
We always want to know if you are unhappy about any aspect of our service. We know that we can make mistakes and we are always happy to review decisions or actions and learn from feedback you give us. Where we have made mistakes, we will try to put things right for you and where we are unable to meet your expectations we will explain why. This process is useful to us as an organisation as it lets us understand where we went wrong and how we can improve in the future.
We can accept your complaint by phone, email, letter, in person or through our website. Please note you can also leave a compliment using this form.
When you send us a complaint we will:
- Acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working days
- Confirm who is responsible for reviewing and responding to your complaint
- Respond to your concerns in writing within 10 working days from the date your complaint was acknowledged (Stage 1)
- Respond to your concerns in writing within 20 working days from the date your complaint was acknowledged (Stage 2)
- Clarify when any issues arising from your complaint will be resolved
- Tell you whether and how you can have our decision reviewed
- Give you the contact details of the Housing Ombudsman Service should you wish to contact them
To learn more about what happens when you make an complaint, and what you can expect from us during this process, have a look at our full Complaints Policy (revised April 2024). Please note that further amendments will be made shortly once our action plan for service improvement has been completed.
If you are unsure at any point of the complaints process and want some guidance then please do let us know. Alternatively, the Housing Ombudsman are available to provide impartial advice and support you at every stage of your complaint.
You can contact them using the following channels:
- Phone: 0300 111 3000
- Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
- Postal address: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET
Improving our Complaints Process
In line with new guidance published by the Ombudsman, we are actively reviewing and improving how we handle complaints.
If you want to know more about what we have done to improve our complaints process, and what work we still have to do, then have a look at our Complaints Handling Code Self-Assessment carried out in April 2024. This self-assessment was carried out using the Housing Ombudsman Service’s ‘Complaint Handling Code‘. The Code, published in April 2024, looks to ensure fairness for residents who have a complaint about their Housing Provider. It is vital that you are easily able to access the complaints service and that you are clear on your rights throughout.
Our existing Complaints Policy is already largely compliant with the expectations of the code (85%). In areas we need to improve (11 out of 72) we have a clear action plan with what we need to do and when by. We will update this Assessment as we complete the plan and republish the policy.
We have a member of our Board leading on complaints’ performance and this is what he said about our self-assessment against the new code this year: “…Good to see that we comply with the majority of the provisions of the code and where we partially do, I am confident that our proposed actions will ensure compliance…”
Our complaint performance in 2023-2024
It is important to us that you know how we handled your complaints last year, including the gaps identified and what we learned. Please take a look at the Complaints performance report for 2023-2024 here and our governing body’s response (Services Committee, Board Sub Group): “We wish to congratulate them (CDS) for the improvements seen here, accepting the number of complaints upheld remained high, but there were learnings identified and some robust actions in place.”
