How we will deal with your feedback

Comments and compliments
All comments and compliments will be acknowledged by letter or email and, if we make any changes as a result, we will feed this back to you and publish it on our website or in our newsletters.

Complaints

East Kent Housing take all complaints seriously and, where necessary, we will take action to ensure the problem is resolved. We have a two-stage complaints procedure which is outlined below.

Our two-stage complaints procedure
It is our intention to resolve all complaints at the earliest possible stage. Wherever possible, we will aim to resolve the problem immediately.

At each stage of the procedure you will receive a written response to your complaint. The response will give the decision, the reason for that decision and explain who you should contact if you are not happy and wish to have the complaint looked at again.

Stage one

After making a complaint, your feedback will be passed to an appropriate manager to investigate and resolve. The manager may discuss the problem further with you, and ask how you would like the problem to be dealt with. Wherever possible, we will try to resolve the problem immediately. At the very least, we will aim to send a full response within ten working days from the date your complaint was received.


Stage two
If you are not happy with the manager’s response, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by your Area Manager or Asset Manager. They will look at how your problem has been managed, and decide whether there is more we could do. They will aim to send a full response within ten working days from the date of receipt of your request to have the complaint reviewed. However, if the problem is particularly complex, this may take a little longer. They will let you know if this is the case and keep you informed of progress.


Independent review
If you are unhappy with the way East Kent Housing has dealt with your complaint, you can ask a ‘designated person’ to consider it, but only if it has been through our two-stage complaints procedure (as listed above). You are no longer able to refer your complaint directly to the Ombudsman unless a period of at least eight weeks has passed since the end of our complaint process.


The designated person
A designated person could be a local Councillor or MP, or a group of tenants acting as a designated tenant complaints panel. East Kent Housing are currently working with a group of tenants to set up a tenant complaints review panel and hope to have this in place by Autumn 2013. In the meantime, your local Councillor or MP will carry out this role.


Useful Contact Details
Housing Ombudsman Service

  • Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone:0300 111 3000 (lines are open Monday to Friday from 9.15 am to 17.15 pm)
  • Address:Housing Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square, LONDON E14 9GE.

You might be interested in :