St. Edmunds Charity deems a complaint to be
 

 “An expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, actions or lack of actions by St. Edmunds Charity and its staff.”
 

When should I complain?

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Our complaints procedure is intended for those times you feel we have failed to deliver what we should. If our service falls short, you should make a complaint. A complaint may be made because St. Edmunds Charity has:

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· Provided a poor service or failed to provide a service at all.

· Failed to do something that we have an obligation to do.

· Taken too long to deal with a request.

· St. Edmunds Charity staff have behaved unhelpfully, inappropriately or discourteously.

· Policies and procedure that are wholly unfair or inappropriate.

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 When not to use the complaints procedure The complaints procedure should not be used for the following:

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· To request a service e.g. for maintenance work to be carried out.

· To complain about things outside of the control of Sapphire Independent Housing e.g. move-on availability.

· Compensation claims.

· Appeals by clients against warnings, notices to quit or evictions.

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St. Edmunds Charity complaints procedure does not cover:

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· Complaints submitted six months or more after the issue has occurred and it is being bought to St. Edmunds Charity’s attention for the first time. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the scheme manager.

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How to make a complaint

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We want to make it as easy as possible for you to let us know if you feel something has gone wrong with our service. Therefore complaints can be made in any of following ways:

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· in person to any member of staff

· over the telephone

· in writing either by letter or by completing a feedback form (forms can be posted in the suggestion box outside the study)

· via email at sryan.stedmundscharity@gmail.com

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St. Edmunds Charity encourages residents to say what actions they feel would resolve their complaint however we cannot guarantee these actions will be met.

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Anonymous complaints will be treated as seriously and within the same timescales as other complaints. They will be investigated through the same process as complaints from specified sources up to Stage 1 of the procedure and will be recorded as an anonymous complaint

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Who can make a complaint?

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 A complaint can be made by a resident or by their advocate who believes that St. Edmunds Charity has failed to provide a service on time or to the standard we promised.

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When a complaint may be refused

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In exceptional circumstances St. Edmunds Charity may refuse to deal with a complaint.

Such circumstances include:

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· If a complaint is about a matter which has already been considered under St. Edmunds Charity’s complaints procedure. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your original complaint and it has been investigated via St. Edmund’s Charity’s complaints procedure you have the right to refer the issue to your local councillor or Member of Parliament or directly to the Housing Ombudsman.

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· Where a complaint is persistent, vexatious or unreasonable.

· Where the complainant or their advocate has been abusive or threatening to staff.

· If you have not requested to escalate or take the matter further within 5 working days of the outcome of the previous stage.

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 If your complaint has been refused the reasons for this will be explained fully in writing.

Confidentiality In line with the Data Protection Act 1988 all personal and sensitive information will be treated as confidential. We will only involve other agencies with the consent of the resident involved unless we are required to by law or the information is necessary for the safeguarding of children or adults at risk.

The simplest and quickest way to resolve a problem is to raise it with the relevant staff member. If you feel the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you may invoke the formal procedure.

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STAGE ONE

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· We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days

· We aim to investigate and respond to your complaint within five working days

· If you are not satisfied with the outcome of stage one, you can escalate the complaint within five working days

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STAGE TWO

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· Your complaint will be reviewed by the service manager

· We aim to respond within ten working days

· If you still feel the outcome is unsatisfactory, you can escalate the complaint to stage three within five working days

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STAGE THREE

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· At stage three an overview of your complaint will be undertaken by person/s not previously involved in the process.

· We aim to respond within ten working days

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NOTE

There may be occasions when the investigation may take longer. We will ensure that the complainant is kept fully informed on a regular basis, even if there is no specific progress to report.

 

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In the event that you feel St. Edmunds Charity has failed to deal with your complaint satisfactorily after the conclusion of stage three you have the right to refer your complaint to your local councillor or Member of Parliament.

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Please be aware your local councillor or Member of Parliament will only consider your complaint after it has been through all stages of St. Edmunds Charity’s Complaints Policy .

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Alternatively, you may prefer to make your complaint directly to the Housing Ombudsman, however they will not look into your complaint for at least 8 weeks after the end St. Edmunds Charity’s procedure has been exhausted, i.e. the end of stage 3.

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Contact details for the housing Ombudsman: Housing Ombudsman

Housing Ombudsman 81 Aldwych, London WC2B 4HN

Tel: 0207 421 3800 Fax: 0207 831 1942

Email: info@housingombudsman.org.uk www.housingombudsman.org.uk