Complaints

We're committed to listening, learning and improving

Listening to our customers is key to who we are and how we work.

This means putting things right when they go wrong, putting changes in place when our ways of working aren't delivering great services, and celebrating great feedback you give us when we get it right.

Our commitment

When we deal with your issue we'll always:

make it easy
try to resolve it before it becomes a complaint
learn from issues and complaints

When things go wrong

When you tell us an issue has occurred we will do our very best to resolve this quickly. The majority of issues raised are successfully resolved this way.

However, if we are not able to do this we will log a complaint for you.

Complaints made easy

Our Complaints Policy is in line with the Housing Ombudsman Service Complaint Handling Code.

You can make a complaint using the form below, or through My Coastline, or by contacting us in your preferred way.

We'll let you know we've received your complaint withing five working days. Once we have logged your complaint we will aim to resolve it within ten working days.

Our priority is to resolve your complaint quickly, fairly and thoroughly. We will consider your personal situation, keep you informed throughout and fully explain our decisions and actions.

Complaints form My Coastline Contact us

Get the My Coastline app

How it works

What is not defined as a complaint?

The following do not fall under the Complaints Policy:

reporting a service issue to us
reporting a repair or defect to us for the first time
asking for an update on a repair or defect
a request for general information
the level of a rent or service charge increase
reporting a problem with your neighbours, or other neighbourhood issue - please see our information about noise and antisocial behaviour
if you have a personal injury or insurance claim

We will not normally accept a complaint about an issue that happened over 12 months ago. However, if a complaint is made outside this timeframe we will use our discretion as to whether we consider it.

What is a complaint?

Our definition of a complaint is the same as that used by the Housing Ombudsman Service: "an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, action or lack of action taken by us, affecting an individual, a customer or group of customers."

Complaints Stage 1

Here is a summary of our complaints handling response times:

acknowledge, define and log - 5 working days of receipt
response - 10 working days of acknowledgment
extension for complex cases - further 10 working days

Under the Complaint Handling Code in cases where there is “good reason” we will advise you of the additional time (beyond that shown above) that may be required to provide you with our response.

In all cases we will:

give you a named point of contact (investigating manager) who will visit you or speak with you
the decision of the complaint
the reasons for any decision
the details of any remedy offered to put things right
details of any outstanding actions
how to escalate the decision to Stage 2 if you are not satisfied

Complaints Stage 2

Here is a summary of our complaints handling response times:

acknowledge, define and log - 5 working days of the escalation
response - 20 working days of acknowledgment
extension for complex cases - further 20 working days

Under the Complaint Handling Code in cases where there is “good reason” we will advise you of the additional time (beyond that shown above) that may be required to provide you with our full response. We will also provide you with contact details of the Housing Ombudsman Service.

In all cases we will confirm:

a named point of contact (from our Complaints Team) and invite you to attend a Stage 2 panel that will consider your complaint
the decision of the complaint
reasons for any decision
details of any remedy offered to put things right
any outstanding actions
how to escalate your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service if you remain dissatisfied

We will liaise with you regarding a convenient date for the Panel Review. It is important that you attend as it is an opportunity to give reasons why you have not been satisfied with the investigations or findings so far. You can outline in your own words how the complaint and the decisions made to date have affected you.

You are welcome to bring a (non-legal) friend, family member or your Complaint Mentor with you for support as we understand this can seem like a rather daunting experience. We just ask that you advise our point of contact in advance who will be attending.

The Panel will consist of a Member from our Executive Team, a Customer Member from our Customer Experience Committee and a Non-Executive Director who will Chair the Panel. A member of our Complaints Team will take notes and a copy will be provided to you with the Panel's findings.

If you are unable to visit Coastline House we can offer either an online Panel Review, or a Panel of one Executive Team member plus a colleague from our Complaints Team who will meet with you in your home.

Following your complaint

Once both Stages 1 and 2 have been completed, our internal complaints procedures have been exhausted.

However if you remain dissatisfied you have the right to refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service for independent review.

After our complaints process is complete a survey will be sent to you asking you to rate your experience.

We hope you take the opportunity to let us know how we did. Your feedback is valuable as it will be used to improve the complaints journey for other customers.

Complaints advice

Help through the process

While we try to make it easy for you, if you would like some additional support with the process, we can ask a Complaint Mentor to contact you. Mentors are trained customer volunteers who act as a confidential and impartial guide to the process. Please ask a member of the Complaints Team to arrange this for you.

How to find out more

You can read our Complaints Policy in the featured documents section at the foot of this page.

There's also information on complaints in the Customer Handbook. You will have been given a copy of this when you moved in to your home, or you can download it below.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Customers have the right to refer their complaint for early advice to the Housing Ombudsman Service. Find out more in its Complaint Handling Code or make contact by phone, letter, or through the website.

Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 1484
Unit D
Preston
PR2 0ET

0300 111 3000

Our Complaints Policy complies with the Housing Ombudsman Service's updated Complaints Handling Code which was introduced 1st April 2024.

In order to comply with the code we complete and publish annually:

a self-assessment
a report on complaints performance

You can read these in the featured documents section below.

For further advice on how to complain visit the Government's Social Housing Complaints page.

Housing Ombudsman Service Social Housing Complaints

Learning from complaints

Where things go wrong we take the opportunity to learn from the issues customers raise.

We identify service improvements and monitor and track these through to completion.

You can find more about these in our annual complaints performance report below or our performance page.

Our performance

Compliments

When we do things well, our customers often pay us compliments about our work.

It's always great to get positive feedback and our staff really appreciate it.

We record all your compliments, so if you think we have done something very well or a member of our team has gone that extra mile to help, please let us know.

To let us know when a job is done well, please contact us in your preferred way.