Download our complaints policy here.

Suggestions

If you have a comment or suggestion to make about the services we provide or if you have an idea on how we can improve our services, please tell us. We will look at your suggestion and see if we can use it. We will let you know what we have done with it once we have considered it.

Compliments

We welcome compliments about the services we provide and our staff. If you would like to make a compliment, please tell us. We will acknowledge your compliment and ensure it reaches the staff involved.

Complaints

We aim to give an excellent service to our customers at all times. However, we know that on occasions mistakes can happen or our services will not be of an acceptable standard. As a result you may wish to complain. Wherever possible, we will aim to resolve your complaint at the first point of contact.

What is a complaint and who can complain to us?

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with:

• the standard of service you have received from us
• the standard of service you have received from one of our contractors
• the response we have provided to a request for a service
• an action that we take or fail to take.

Anyone who uses our services can complain, including the agreed representative of someone who is dissatisfied with the service.

It’s good to talk

If you have a problem or are unhappy you can start by talking to a member of staff. We may be able to resolve the issue for you quickly if you tell us why you are unhappy and what you want us to do to put things right. Often we can resolve the problem on the spot, without the need to fill in forms or put your complaint in writing. It is much easier to resolve a complaint if you let us know about it as soon as possible. You can help by:

• being clear and specific about your complaint
• telling us exactly what the key issue is and what went wrong
• telling us what it is you require to put things right

Making a complaint

If we cannot resolve the matter quickly for you, you can make a complaint to us in person, on the phone, by email, by completing our online form or by post using our complaint form.

Telephone: 020 7625 1818

Email: complaints@innisfree.org.uk

Post: Innisfree Housing Association, 190 Iverson Road, London, NW6 2HL

Support

We receive complaints in any language. If you need help to put your complaint in writing, or need an interpreter to help you make a verbal complaint, we will make the necessary arrangements upon request.

Exclusions – What can’t I complain about?

There are some things we can’t deal with through our complaints procedure. These include complaints that:

• are being dealt with or were previously dealt with by legal proceedings, or where a decision will be decided by a court (such as an eviction)
• have not been raised within six months of the incident occurring
• are about a service that is not Innisfree’s responsibility
• are about neighbour disputes and anti-social behaviour
• are made anonymously
• have already been considered and have not been taken to the next stage within 20 working days (unless there is new information)

How long do I have to make a complaint?

You need to make your complaint within six months of the matter arising.

What you can expect when you make a complaint

We will:

• make it easy for you to make a complaint
• help anyone who requires assistance in making a complaint
• treat you fairly and respectfully
• listen and deal with your complaint in a prompt and courteous manner
• keep you informed throughout the process of your complaint
• take your complaint seriously and investigate it fully and impartially
• apologise when we get things wrong
• put right any mistakes made and learn from them

What happens when you make a complaint

We have a two-stage complaints procedure.

Stage 1 Your complaint

We believe it is best to get complaints settled as quickly as possible and that’s what we aim to do. Some complaints are more complicated so we have a few steps that we may need to go through to get to a solution. If the member of staff can provide a resolution to the complaint within 3 working days it will be resolved and closed at this initial stage.

If your complaint cannot be resolved at the point of complaint, it will be treated as a formal complaint and given to the appropriate member of staff, who will act as the Investigating Complaints Officer for your complaint.

They will aim to:

• speak to you within 2 working days to clarify the issue and agree how and when it will be resolved
• ensure any actions agreed with you are carried out and followed up
• contact you to summarise the key points of the outcome and to ensure that your are happy with the outcome so that the matter is resolved
• write to you confirming how the complaint has been resolved, within 10 working days of when you made the complaint.

Stage 2 Review

If you are still unhappy at the end of Stage 1, you can request that your complaint is reviewed. If this happens a more senior member of staff will review your complaint within 28 working days of when you receive your outcome letter.

We are committed to embedding the Housing Ombudsman’s Guidelines for best practice into our policies and procedures. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service. The contact details are as follows:

Housing Ombudsman Service

Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ

Tel: 0300 111 3000

Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Innisfree Complaints Form

Our online Complaints Form can be found here