Severn Vale Housing Society

Here we give you information about our Complaints Procedure and details of “How to Make a Complaint”. We explain the various stages of making a complaint. If you decide that you need to make a complaint there is a complaints form available in our guides and applications forms section, or you can click here. Once you have completed the form and returned it to us we will then contact you.

We strive to deliver the best possible service, but there may be an occasion when this does not happen. If so we need to know because it is very important that we obtain feedback on the service we provide.

If we have made a mistake, if there is a problem with your home which is our fault, or if our service is not of the standard required we will apologise and try to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.

Who can complain?

Our Complaints Procedure is open to everyone who receives or who requests a service from us and those people who act on our behalf.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of actions by us affecting an individual customer or group of customers.

Making a complaint

This section explains the stages you can follow if you are still dissatisfied and gives the maximum length of time you can expect to wait for a response. We treat complaints very seriously and our Board of Management receives regular reports on complaints so that they are aware of any dissatisfaction with us.

We treat ALL complaints in the strictest of confidence, although it is difficult to deal with anonymous complaints. If you need any help to put your complaint in writing or completing the complaints form, please contact us. We know that it can be worrying or difficult to complain in this way, but we will help you as much as we can. We want to know what you think – good or bad!

How do I complain?

We hope that, at first, you will talk to the member of staff concerned, or their manager to try and resolve the complaint. However, if the complaint is unresolved you can:

• Use the form provided to write to us
• You can write a letter
• You can telephone a member of staff at the Severn Vale office
• You can visit the office at Shannon Way, Ashchurch, and tell a manager that you wish to make a complaint

Stage 1

Customers with a complaint about the service should contact us and put the complaint in writing either by letter or by completing the complaints form. When we receive your complaint, it will be passed to the Director responsible for the relevant service area, who has 5 days to attempt to resolve the matter.

We treat the following issues as a complaint:

• Dissatisfaction with Severn Vale Housing Society’s policy or practice
• Dissatisfaction with the way we have reached a decision or with the decision taken in implementing that decision
• Staff or contractor attitudes
• Failure to provide a service
• Failure to achieve standards or quality of service
• Failure to fulfil statutory or contractual responsibilities

This list is not exhaustive. If you are in any doubt, contact us.

The provisions of the complaints procedure are over and above any statutory rights or remedies which are already available to you, if dissatisfied – move to stage 2.

Stage 2

The complaint is investigated by the Executive Director of the company. This review will include the action taken to date and note the outcome you require.

Recommendations for resolving the complaint will be made and we will write to you within 10 working days of receiving the file, advising you of the recommendation.

If you are not satisfied with the suggested outcome of the complaint move to stage 3.

Stage 3

All details of the complaint are passed to the Chief Executive who will review the complaint and reply to you within 10 working days of the referral with the decision. As part of the investigation you may be interviewed by the Chief Executive.

If appropriate the Chief Executive may, prior to reaching a final decision, request a meeting of the Customer Complaints Review Board.

The Board consists of at least two members of our Board of Management and the Chief Executive. A record of the Review Board Meeting is sent to you within 5 days of the meeting.

You may wish to contact the following:

• Citizens Advice Bureau
• A solicitor
• Your local Councillor, c/o your local authority
• Your MP, c/o House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
• Housing Ombudsman

If having made a complaint you are still not satisfied with the outcome you may make a further complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. This must be done within 12 months from reaching the end of our complaints procedure.

The Housing Ombudsman investigates complaints from tenants or applicants when they feel they have been treated unfairly in terms of the administration of our policies.

Before contacting the Ombudsman you must have completed our own complaints procedure. A complaint can be made to the Ombudsman service in writing or via the telephone.

Both mediation and arbitration services will be available. The Ombudsman will make recommendations on any complaint and Severn Vale will take account of these recommendations.

Please note that the Ombudsman service does not deal with rent and service charge levels or our agreed policies on disputes between neighbours.

If you need further details please contact us or the:

Housing Ombudsman Service, 81 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4HN

Telephone Number: 0845 7125973 (calls charged at local rates)

Web: www.ihos.org.uk

Our staff are trained in responding to our customers needs. If you wish to discuss a complaint about us with a member of staff, please contact us:

Severn Vale Housing Society Limited, Shannon Way, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8ND

T: 01684 272727 F: 01684 272728

E: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it W: www.svhs.org.uk