Feedback from our customers is very important. It helps us to put right anything that we have done wrong, and helps us learn how we can improve. We welcome all feedback but we particularly want to hear about:
- team members or services that have worked well
- how you think we could improve
- where things didn't go as well as you expected
- any complaints you have (see below for more information on this).
You can give us feedback or make a complaint by phone, email, letter, webchat, social media channels or through our customer portal My Account.
However you contact us, please make sure you include your full name, address, date of birth and a contact number or email address, along with the details of your feedback. This will help us to support you much more quickly and effectively.
How we deal with complaints
We take complaints very seriously and have a formal, two-stage process to investigate and hopefully resolve all complaints we receive.
Every complaint is handled by our complaints officer who will investigate the complaint and offer a resolution (stage 1). If, after this stage, a customer gives us evidence that we haven't resolved things successfully, one of the customer services management team will review the complaint (stage 2).
If you have been through this two-stage process and feel that we have not handled the situation properly, you can then refer the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
You can view our self-assessment for the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code by clicking here.
You can view the response from our Board about our self-assessment by clicking here.
The Housing Ombudsman has lots of helpful advice and resources, including how to complain, when it’s appropriate to escalate to them and fact sheets on a variety of housing issues. Head to the residents section on the Ombudsman website by clicking here.
They’re also looking for more people to join its ‘Resident Panel’ where you can share your experiences, suggest improvements, and work with them to make services better for social housing customers. Applications close on 30 April 2024. Click here to find out more about the resident panel, including their recent thoughts on the new Complaints Handling Code.
Stage 1 formal complaints
Our current complaints policy says on page 3 that we will decide whether a complaint is valid and reasonable before registering it as a formal complaint and inform customers accordingly. We prefer to do this is in writing so our customers have a record of why their request may be being denied. Our complaints officer is also happy to explain by any other method if asked.
We follow the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
Click here to view our full complaints policy
Reporting on complaints
For the financial year April 2022 – March 2023 we received:
- 180 complaints that were resolved at stage 1
- 30 complaints that were resolved at stage 2
- Two complaints that were referred to the Ombudsman.
What customers are saying about our complaints process
We've been listening to feedback and making improvements, and we're excited to share some positive comments from customers who had a good experience with our process. Take a look at some of the comments we’ve received so far!
“Dealt with our formal complaint so swiftly and professionally and sorted out our problem to a satisfactory outcome.”
“I’m glad that the garden can be used properly now. All the things have been done now in my flat.
"Communication is paramount. Thank you for all your help”
“Thank you for your response and for acknowledging the difficulties that we had with handing the property back to Futures. I appreciate the time you have taken and for the kind gesture of the flowers for mum. I am happy with your findings and not looking to take it any further”.
Learning from complaints and feedback
Here are some of the changes we have made in response to customer complaints and feedback over the last year.
Plastering works
There’s been some confusion from customers expecting our operatives to start the plastering works on the first visit, when this initial visit is just to inspect what work needs to be done. We’ve updated guidance for our customer service team, so going forwards this will be clearly explained to customers. The operatives will also take clear before and after photos of the works, so we have these on record.
Window replacements
We’ve produced a new card that operatives will hand to customers when we come to measure windows that need to be replaced. This is because customers weren’t always aware they needed to have already cleared the area around the window before the operatives come to replace them. Click here to view a copy of the card.
Our colleagues should already be using shoe covers, but this has been reinforced as part of the specification for each job, and we’re also working on a reminder popping up on the mobiles/tablets our operatives use.
Kitchen and bathroom planned works
We found it could be made clearer to customers what we need them to do and which contractors were doing what, when their kitchen or bathrooms were being replaced. For example, who removes the items and who is responsible for each bit. We’ve now updated guidance for our customer service team so we can clearly explain to customers what they need to do and what will happen.
Repairs process review
We are reviewing our repair process to ensure a seamless experience for our customers when reporting and completing repairs. This includes improving communication with customers to keep them informed about the progress of their repairs. We will also evaluate the work carried out by our contractors as part of this review.
Customer services transformation
We have started a major piece of work to fully review and transform our customer service processes. We want to enhance the experience for our customers when they reach out to us. This includes improving how we handle each interaction and ensuring clear communication about the progress of customer enquiries that require multiple steps. As part of this transformation, we are also reviewing our complaints process, identifying common themes, and taking actions to address them effectively. These insights will be integrated into our ongoing work around continuous improvement.
Customer experience evaluation
We are also reviewing all the feedback we receive from our customers, and we want to ensure that we capture all your valuable input. Our Customer Insight Committee will carefully examine the feedback we currently gather, including both formal and informal responses. Their goal is to identify any areas where we may be missing important feedback and provide informed suggestions on how we can improve our data collection process to bridge those gaps. Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us enhance our services, so we truly appreciate your participation.
