Complaints
The Homes and Communities Agency is committed to delivering an efficient and professional public service and we aim to provide prompt, polite and helpful advice. We are always keen to hear our customers’ views about our performance, particularly where we may not have followed our standards of service.
Types of complaints handled
Handling complaints quickly, fairly and helpfully is a key part of our approach to service delivery. Examples of complaints about a service provided by the HCA might include:
- Dissatisfaction with the way we respond to an enquiry or the time we took to respond (except in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act which are handled in accordance with the internal review procedure laid out in the Act)
- A perceived injustice because of failure to deal with matters properly which may include discourtesy or rudeness or failure to recognise and correct mistakes
- Allegations of unlawful discrimination made in respect of the HCA’s activities
- Dissatisfaction with the way our land, property and other assets are maintained
- Dissatisfaction with the response for a request for our services to be provided in a different format
There are some types of complaints that we are not able to handle and these should be directed to the bodies responsible:
- Complaints made about regulatory decisions by the Tenant Service Authority
- Complaints against individual housing associations which should be directed to the housing association in question in the first instance and subsequently to the Independent Housing Ombudsman
- Complaints against local Councils which should be directed to the Council concerned and subsequently to the Local Government Ombudsman
If you are not satisfied with the quality of service provided by the HCA we will endeavour to:
- Ensure that making a complaint is as easy as possible
- Treat a complaint seriously whether it is made in writing, by letter, fax, email, telephone or in person
- Deal with it promptly, politely and where appropriate informally (for example by telephone)
- Include in our response: an apology where we have not acted in accordance with our standards of service, an explanation of the position and information on any actions taken
- Learn from complaints made against the HCA and use them to improve our service and publish information on complaints in our Annual Report and Financial Statements
How to make a complaint
You can make a complaint in writing, by letter, fax, email, telephone or in person. If you are emailing, please let us know if a reply by email is acceptable and if not please provide a telephone number or postal address. For complex issues we recommend that you should arrange to have your complaint sent to us in writing and a copy kept for your reference. A letter often helps us to understand any complicated details that may be misunderstood during a telephone conversation. In cases where the complainant may be unable to provide details of their complaint in writing as a result of a disability the HCA will consider verbal complaints or accept complaints submitted on behalf of the complainant. Complaints submitted by a third party must be signed or agreed with the complainant.
Complaints should normally be directed to the member of staff with whom you have been dealing. This will give them an opportunity to explain what actions have been taken and to try to sort things out with you. If you would prefer, you can ask the member of staff for the name of their line manager and direct your complaint to them.
What happens next?
We will do our best to:
- Treat complaints thoroughly, fairly, politely and sensitively
- Explain our complaints procedure and keep you up to date on the progress of your complaint
- Respond promptly. Our target for replying to complaints is 15 working days from the date of receipt. If it is not possible to give you a full response within this time – for instance because detailed investigation is required – we will give you an interim response telling you what is being done to investigate your complaint, when you can expect the full response and from whom.
We hope that our first response to your complaint will resolve the problem; however, if you are unhappy with the reply or need further help you can write to the HCA Complaints Officer who will consider the issues afresh and try to resolve them.
Their address is:
The Complaints Officer
Homes and Communities Agency
110 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9SA
Email: complaints@hca.gsx.gov.uk
The Complaints Officer will report to the Chief Executive and senior Directors who will then respond to the issues raised. The Complaints Officer will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days of receipt and will respond to you within 20 working days. If the investigation into your complaint takes longer you will be kept informed of progress.
The Independent Complaints Reviewer
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint you can refer it to the Independent Complaints Reviewer (ICR) who will carry out an independent and impartial review. Further information about the ICR can be obtained from her website: www.icrev.org.uk
Review by the Parliamentary Ombudsman
If you are not happy with the way the complaint has been handled by the HCA and the ICR you can ask a Member of Parliament to request that the Parliamentary Ombudsman conduct an independent review of your complaint and how it has been handled. The Ombudsman will investigate complaints against the HCA but will expect you to have gone through the HCA’s Complaints Procedure before they will consider your complaint.
If the Ombudsman is satisfied that your complaint has been dealt with fairly he will close the case and normally we will not respond to further approaches about the matter. Further information about the independent review arrangements can be obtained from the Ombudsman’s office:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel. 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
The Homes and Communities Agency is able to provide literature in alternative formats including large print, Braille and audio. Please contact us on 0300 1234 500 or by email at mail@homesandcommunities.co.uk for further information.
Last updated: 8 April 2010