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COMPLAINTS INTRODUCTION Ardenglen Housing Association aims to provide a high level of service. However, there may be occasions when you are not happy with the way you have been treated or you feel that the Association has acted unfairly carrying out a Policy. If this is the case it is important that you tell us. The Association has a Complaint’s Policy and Procedure, which is available on request. This leaflet has been designed as a guide to help you sort out any complaints you may have. Who can use the Complaints Procedure? Anyone who receives or requests a service from Ardenglen Housing Association can use the Complaints Procedure. This includes, tenants, people applying for a house, owners, sharing owners and people living in neighbouring property. You may wish to ask someone to act on your behalf, such as local councillor, advice agency or solicitor. We are happy to discuss your complaint with anyone acting on your behalf but we do encourage you to contact us directly to try and sort tings out first. What can you complain about? You can complaint about any aspect of the Association’s service for example, the repairs service or how your housing application has been handled. Note: the Complaints Policy is different from the Neighbour Disputes Policy. If you wish to make a neighbour complaint, you should refer to Leaflet Number 7 – in this Handbook. 1. Initial Complaints Often, problems can be sorted out quickly and easily by discussing them when they happen. When you have a complaint, you should try and sort it in the first instance by contacting your Housing Officer or relevant member of staff. You can do this in writing or by making an appointment to speak to them. 2. Taking a Complaint Further If you are not able to sort out your complaint with the relevant member of staff you should arrange an appointment with or write to:
We aim to sort out complaints within two weeks. We will write to you letting you know the outcome. If there are some factors out with our control and the problem will take longer to investigate or resolve, we will write to you after two weeks to keep you informed of our progress. 3. The Appeals Procedure If you feel that the Association staff has not dealt with your complaint satisfactorily you can appeal to the Management Committee of the Association. The Housing Management Sub Committee will then deal with most appeals. If the complaint is of a serious nature or is about the Director, the Association’s Management Committee will deal with it. Both committees meet monthly. If you want to make an appeal write to: The Chairperson Tel: (0141) 634-8016 Fax: 0141-634-9016 The Chair of the relevant committee will write to you within 3 working days of receiving your complaint to acknowledge its receipt and let you know the date that it will be presented to a committee meeting. The Chair will then write to you (or instruct a staff member to do so) within 3 working days of receiving your complaint to let you know the decision. If you are still not satisfied you may then contact the housing Association Ombudsman. 4. Scottish Public Service Ombudsman The Ombudsman can investigate individual complaints against Housing Associations and Co-operatives and other public services. This is a free and impartial service. The Ombudsman will look into complaints about bad inefficient or improper administration and report to you and the Association about whether or not the complaint is to be upheld. If the complaint is upheld, the Ombudsman will suggest what should be put right and suggest how this should be done. Not everyone can use the Ombudsman’s service. You must have a Housing Association Tenancy, a Shared Ownership Agreement, a Factoring Agreement or a Housing Management Service Agreement. To make a complaint, write to: Scottish Public Services Ombudsman 5. Confidentiality The Association will as far as possible, respect the confidentiality of any complaint. However, if the complaints concern another neighbour, tenant, staff member of contractor whose services we employ, the Association will need to discuss the complaints with the person concerned. The Association will discuss this with you first to confirm whether you wish to proceed with your complaint, before taking this course of action. 6. Information & Advice If you would like someone to act on your behalf or to help you make a complaint there are a number of agencies how can help you. Here are some useful numbers: Castlemilk Law Centre 0141 634-0331 |