Comments, complaints and compliments Policy

Transcription

1 Comments, complaints and compliments Policy Summary: This policy sets out Genesis Housing Association's approach to managing comments, complaints and compliments. Version: 4.0 Effective from: 08 January 2018 Planned review date: 08 January 2021 Who to contact: Complaints & Service Recovery Manager, Head of Customer Experience Contents 1. Purpose Definitions Comments & Compliments Making a complaint How we will deal with complaints Requesting a review External appeals against final complaint review First Tier Tribunal Compensation Unacceptable or abusive behaviour Diversity and Inclusion Customer engagement and impact Monitoring and learning from comments, compliments and complaints Background Legislation Other useful links... 7 Page 1 of 18

2 1. Purpose We welcome feedback on our services, whether positive or negative. Genesis believes that in order to resolve the complaints of our customers we must understand their needs through actively listening to the individual. Effective handling of complaints increases customer confidence and satisfaction and can provide valuable insights into what we do well and where we need to improve. We aim to: Encourage feedback, both positive and negative. Resolve complaints quickly, sensitively and efficiently. Resolve complaints at the first point of contact, wherever possible. Learn from comments, complaints and compliments to help us improve our services and reduce the level of complaints in future. 2. Definitions We Refers to Genesis Housing Association Ltd. You Refers to anyone making a comment, complaint or compliment to us. Comment - A comment is positive or negative feedback about our service. Complaint - A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction or concern, in any form, with our services. Compliment - A compliment is an unsolicited expression of gratitude or praise for a member of staff or service area. Service request - A request for a service, such as a repair or the logging of an ASB incident, which has not been made to Genesis previously. 3. Comments & Compliments 3.1 Making a comment Anyone can make a comment to us. All comments will be recorded. Negative comments may be investigated and actions taken accordingly, if required. Comments on areas of strength or weakness are used to continuously improve our service. 3.2 Giving a compliment Anyone can pay a compliment about a member of staff, a team or the organisation as a whole. Compliments are passed on to the relevant staff member, and are used to identify areas of good practice we can learn from. 3.3 How to make a comment or compliment You can make your comment or compliment in person, over the telephone on , by letter, via our website, via social media, at a visit to our offices or via to contact@genesisha.org.uk or compliments@genesisha.org.uk. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 2

3 4. Making a complaint 4.1 How to complain You can make a complaint to anyone in the organisation. You can tell us about your complaint in person, over the telephone on , by letter, by to complaints@genesisha.org.uk, via our website, via social media or at a visit to our offices. If you have additional support needs, we will make the necessary arrangements, such as a translation service, to assist you in making a complaint, on your request. If your complaint relates to a property managed by an external agency on our behalf, you should complain directly to them before making a complaint to us. 4.2 Who can complain Anyone can make a complaint to us. You can ask someone else to make a complaint on your behalf. If a third party making a complaint on your behalf is not an MP, Councillor, a person with power of attorney, or if we are not sure that the third party is acting on your behalf, we will require written permission from you before corresponding with them. We will respond directly to you and send a copy to the third party who made the complaint on your behalf. If we receive an anonymous complaint, this may highlight a problem or it might raise a safeguarding or 'whistleblowing' issue which will be dealt with under the relevant policy however our ability to fully explore and feedback on the issue may be limited due to the nature of anonymous complaints. We will record, investigate and monitor anonymous complaints in the same way that we treat comments. 4.3 Time limits Complaints should be made within a reasonable period which would normally be within six months of the matter occurring. In exceptional circumstances we may decide to respond to a complaint outside of this timescale. This will be decided on a case by case basis. This reflects the Housing Ombudsman Service scheme. 4.4 Exclusions If the issue is not a complaint within the definition of this policy, we will deal with it through our relevant alternative policies and advise you accordingly. The following will not be dealt with within this policy (refer to Section 15Other useful links): A first request for service, information or an explanation of our policies and procedures. Neighbour disputes or anti-social behaviour, unless the complaint refers to our failure to follow our policies (refer to our Anti-Social Behaviour policy). Issues regarding hate crime or domestic abuse, unless the complaint refers to our failure to follow our policies (refer to Hate incidents and hate crime Policy or Domestic abuse policy). A claim being dealt with by our insurers. Issues where you have commenced legal action against us. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 3

4 A dispute about the amount of rent set unless you believe that the rent was incorrectly set. Issues regarding the contents of our policies. We will however use this information during our policy reviews. 5. How we will deal with complaints 5.1 General Principles We will deal with complaints impartially, objectively and professionally. We will aim to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. We will listen to your complaint, expectations and desired outcomes. Making a complaint will not result in any adverse consequence such as removing a service or treating you any differently. If your complaint is about the conduct of a member of staff, the individual(s) concerned will not be asked to investigate. An independent member of staff will deal with your complaint in accordance with our policies on staff conduct. Details of individual performance management action plans will not be discussed with you. If we suspect that abuse or neglect is taking place, we will refer to our Safeguarding policies and procedures. If you report or we suspect that abuse or neglect is taking place, we will refer to our Safeguarding policies and procedures. You can also report allegations of abuse and neglect directly to the local authority concerned if you wish. If your complaint refers to a media story, we will refer it to the Communications team for advice in line with our media handling protocol. All complaints will be recorded on our internal system. All complaints including those directly sent to senior members of staff and Board members will be dealt with in line with this policy. 5.2 Contact We will contact you by your preferred method of contact, where specified, and you will be given a main point of contact to speak to about your complaint. We will contact you within two working days from the date we receive your complaint to establish what you need for resolution and to agree a timescale. If this needs to be changed for any reason, we will agree a new timescale with you. If you cannot be reached via your preferred method of contact, we will continue our investigation and respond to you by letter. We will keep you informed throughout the investigation. All complaints will be responded to via your preferred method of contact. This will be followed by a written response, in plain English, within 10 working days from the date we received your complaint. Our response will contain a summary of the complaint and outline any future actions along with timescales to complete these actions. Written response can be translated into your preferred language upon request. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 4

5 6. Requesting a review If you are not satisfied with our response, you can ask for it to be reviewed within 25 working days from either the date of our response letter or from the date we were due to complete the agreed actions. Your review will be carried out by an independent member of staff, who has not been involved in the original investigation. The reviewer will contact you to gather further information and investigate the matter. We will provide a full written response, in plain English, within 20 working days from the date the review request was received. It will contain a summary of the review, our response, an apology if appropriate, and confirmation that we have now completed our complaints process. Written response can be translated into your preferred language upon request. 7. External appeals against final complaint review If you have exhausted our complaints process and you are still unhappy with our response, you can ask an external organisation to look into this matter. 7.1 The Ombudsmen We will co-operate fully with the Ombudsman Service during any investigation and comply fully with the resulting decision, which will be binding on us. Any actions recommended by the designated person will be passed to the relevant service for consideration Housing Ombudsman If you are a tenant, leaseholder or a housing applicant and your complaint has reached the final stage of our complaints process and you still believe our response is incorrect or incomplete, you can request a referral to the Housing Ombudsman by a designated person. This designated person could be any MP in England, a councillor for the local authority for the property. Alternatively, if you wait eight weeks, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman directly at Exchange Tower Harbour Exchange Square London E14 9GE Telephone: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk The Housing Ombudsman: Local Government Ombudsman If you are unhappy with our response and your care is funded or arranged by a local authority, then you can make a complaint to your local authority. If you are then unhappy with the outcome of the local authority s actions you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 5

6 If you pay for your care yourself and are unhappy with our response to your complaint then you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman at Financial Ombudsman If you have either a First Buy Shared Equity Loan or a Shared Equity loan with us can also contact the Financial Ombudsman. You can find more information about the Financial Ombudsman at Local authorities Where we are providing services on behalf of a local authority customers can also complain to their local authority, this will apply to: Customers in temporary housing Customers in receipt of services such as floating support or domiciliary care 7.3 The Charity Commission If you are receiving services from our charitable foundation, Genesis Community, you can refer your complaint to the Charity Commission. 7.4 Care Quality Commission (CQC) The CQC regulate health and care services. The CQC cannot investigate or resolve complaints about these services on your behalf, if you are using one of our registered care services and want to make a complaint you should follow this policy. The CQC does however welcome information about services that are delivered and complaints that are made about these and if provided to them will use this to inform its future inspection programme. You can find more information about the CQC at Financial Conduct Authority We hold a Consumer Credit Licence for two types of equity mortgages. We are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA cannot investigate or resolve complaints. If you have either a First Buy Shared Equity loan or a Shared Equity loan, you should follow this policy. 8. First Tier Tribunal If your complaint relates to service charges, you can refer the issue to the First Tier Tribunal at any stage. You can find more information about the First Tier Tribunal at 9. Compensation Compensation, where appropriate, can be paid at any stage in the complaints process. All compensation payments will be made in line with our Compensation and Goodwill Gesture policy. 10. Unacceptable or abusive behaviour Our staff have the right to be treated with respect, therefore to protect our staff we will not engage with you if your behaviour has become threatening or abusive. Further information about our approach in dealing with unacceptable or abusive behaviour can be found in our Preventing unacceptable behaviour, harassment and violence towards staff policy. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 6

7 11. Diversity and Inclusion We have carried out a Diversity & Inclusion assessment of our complaints policy and procedure using our customer data around complaints. We also consulted with the disability forum to gain qualitative data. We concluded that this policy does not adversely impact a particular group of customers. To request a copy of the diversity and inclusion assessment, please contact us policy@genesisha.org.uk. 12. Customer engagement and impact We consulted with our customers including our Customer Scrutiny Panel and Disability forum for feedback about this policy. We also included the recommendations from our Customer Scrutiny Panel into this policy. 13. Monitoring and learning from comments, compliments and complaints Gathering feedback from our customers on their experience of our services is important. We use this feedback to improve the service we provide. We will keep and analyse all complaints, compliments and comments we receive and will monitor timescales for responding to them. We will use diversity analysis to understand the nature of our complaints. We will provide regular reports on the quantity of comments, compliments and complaints submitted, and on the lessons we have learned from them. We will report this information to senior management teams, the Board and to customers. 14. Background Legislation Housing Act 1996 Localism Act 2011 Health & Social Care Act Other useful links Compensation and Goodwill Gesture policy Anti-social behaviour policy Hate incidents and hate crime Policy Safeguarding policies Domestic abuse policy Whistleblowing Policy Preventing unacceptable behaviour, harassment and violence towards staff policy Data Protection Policy Date Retention Policy Housing Ombudsman Service Scheme Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO) Consumer Code 2015 Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 7

8 Author: Ludmila Arnassalon, Policy Officer Approval date: 07 November 2017 Approved by: Policy owner: Accountable Director: Policy Review Group Head of Customer Experience Customer Experience Director Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 8

9 Compensation and Goodwill Gesture Policy Summary: This policy outlines our approach to dealing with claims for compensation and making decisions about goodwill gestures. Version: 2.0 The policy applies to all Genesis customers however it excludes landlords who supply properties to us for temporary housing.. Effective from: 09 January 2018 Planned review date: 05 December 2020 Who to contact: Service Recovery and Complaints Team Contents 1. Purpose Definitions Policy statement When we will pay compensation Exclusions Goodwill Gesture Deductions from Compensation Payments Disputes and appeals Diversity and Inclusion Customer engagement and impact Background Legislation Other useful links Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 9

10 16. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to: Support a consistent and transparent approach to managing compensation requests. Support a consistent and transparent approach to making goodwill payments or other gestures. Clarify the circumstances under which we can offer payments or gifts, compensation or goodwill gestures. Support and promote our commitment to empowering our staff to resolve issues at first point of contact. This policy does not affect your rights to compensation under your tenancy agreement, lease or any other contract you may have with us. Where there is no statement made about compensation in your agreement or lease, this policy will apply. 17. Definitions We Refers to Genesis Housing Association Ltd. You Refers to anyone requesting compensation. Compensation a financial payment to make amends, make right the loss or to recognise inconvenience caused as a result of a service or obligation not being fulfilled. Goodwill gesture a discretionary financial or other gesture given to recognise a shortcoming in the way we have delivered our service (for example inconvenience or distress experienced by a customer). White Goods - large electrical goods used domestically such as refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines. Act of God - natural phenomena such as lightning strikes, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes - large-scale, freak weather occurrences. 18. Policy statement Where services fall short of the standards we seek to achieve, or we have failed to fulfil a service obligation, we apologise and try to remedy the situation where there is an opportunity to do so. We treat each claim with urgency and sensitivity; our staff are empowered to make decisions early on in the process to prevent compensation claims escalating and we make every effort to provide a remedy as soon as possible. We determine if any third parties are involved in the case or whether you are responsible for any part of the situation. We advise all parties at the earliest opportunity if this is the case. 19. When we will pay compensation Where we have failed to fulfil a service obligation we will consider an offer of compensation. However, these are not automatic and will only be considered where no practical action can be identified to remedy the situation. We consider financial compensation where; we have failed to follow our published policies there have been unreasonable delays against our service standards Please refer to Appendix 1 for a Summary of Compensation Payments Compensation under right to repair Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 10

11 Where there is provision in the tenancy, lease or licence agreement, we will issue compensation for delays in completing repairs within set timescales under the right to repair scheme. This is administered in line with Homes and Communities Agency guidelines. See Appendix 2 for a copy of the set timescales under the right to repair scheme. If we fail to carry out a qualifying repair that has been reported within the specified time, you can request for another contractor to complete the repair. If the second contractor fails to complete the repair, and you have allowed reasonable access to the property, you can make a claim for compensation Right to compensation for improvements Where there is provision in the tenancy, we will compensate for certain improvements made to the property in line with the Government s Right to Compensation for Improvements scheme. Compensation is only payable when the tenancy has ended and you must meet the criteria set by the Governments. For a copy of the set timescales under Right to compensation for improvements and qualifying improvements, please refer to our Property improvements for tenants and leaseholders Policy 19.3 Compensation for loss of heating and/or hot water We will compensate where you report a total loss of heating and hot water, and where we are responsible for restoration but have not restored it (or provided an alternative means of supply) within our published resolution times (Refer to our Responsive Repair Policy). We will pay a set amount for each day after the first 48 hours that you are without heating (during October to March only) or without hot water (any time of the year) Loss of room or facility We will consider compensation payments where a room is made completely unusable. Compensation for loss of a room or facility only applies when you have not been temporarily decanted by us. In circumstances where you have been decanted, please refer to our decant policy Loss of use of white goods We will consider compensation requests for the loss of use of white goods (where we have provided these and are responsible for the repair or replacement) for more than 10 days. The amount of compensation offered will be assessed on a case by case basis and in line with section 4.8 of this policy Bank charges Where we have debited your bank account in error and you have incurred bank charges as a result, you are entitled to a refund of any incurred charges when supporting evidence is provided Sales and leasehold management If you are leasehold customer who incurred additional valuation costs for challenging our property valuation, you will be entitled to a refund of those costs, if your challenge is upheld. If you are leasehold customer and have incurred additional costs, delays or inconvenience due to a service failure during the sales or leasehold management process, you may be entitled to a refund. We may decide to waive these costs where fees have not already been charged or recovered from the customer for the service. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 11

12 19.8 Other service failures Where you express dissatisfaction with a service failure or from events or circumstances not covered elsewhere in this policy, we can make a discretionary payment up to 250. This includes cases of inconvenience, hardship, distress or a making good payment. These payments are made subject to supporting evidence or proof at our request. In exceptional circumstances we may, at our discretion, increase the amount of compensation awarded; for example where a customer has experienced multiple failures across a number of services or for a prolonged period of time. 20. Exclusions We will not pay compensation where: the fault, loss or delay of service has been caused by you, a third party or is a matter over which we have no control. we have informed you in advance about a forthcoming loss of service or fault, and it falls within our advertised timescales we have acted reasonably to mitigate any loss and/or damage and/or where the problem has been exacerbated by Act of God or similar occurrence which we could not have reasonably planned for. the incident arose as a result of your negligence or because of a failure to comply with the terms of your tenancy agreement, lease or contract your actions or inactions have exacerbated the damage for which we would otherwise be liable we provide an alternative source of heating and the cost of energy is higher you did not reasonably cooperate with us, for example where you refused access to your property. there is a loss of earnings Where we had to remove personal items presenting a hazard in communally accessible areas Service charges Reimbursement of service charges are managed by the service charge team and do not constitute compensation Legal Notice This policy will not cover claims for legal fees. Any such claims must be submitted formally in writing or by a legal representative, including any claims for disrepair Insurance Claims Personal injury claims where you believe that you have suffered an injury or ill health as a result of action or omission by Genesis; a claim for damages can be made against Genesis public liability policy. For further information, please contact our Insurance team at insurance@genesisha.org.uk. Damage to personal effects - We encourage you to take out your own home contents insurance policy to cover for damage to your personal effects, such as but not limited to, furniture and furnishings. In the event you believe Genesis is at fault, a liability claim can be made where negligence will need to be proven. Any agreed settlement by our insurers will include a deduction for fair wear and tear. For further information, please contact our Insurance team at insurance@genesisha.org.uk. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 12

13 20.4 Contractors Where contractors fail to fulfil a service obligation we ask them to compensate you directly. In some cases we may pay you and seek to recover costs from contracting firms where possible Managing agents Where we manage properties on behalf of another landlord their compensation policy will apply. If there is no compensation policy, this document should be used as guidance. If you are a resident of a Genesis property with an occupancy agreement with the managing agent rather than with us, any compensation paid is determined by the management agreement. 21. Goodwill Gesture In some cases we may decide to offer a discretionary goodwill gesture or payment in recognition of special hardship, where we are not at fault. Payments in these circumstances are not an admission of liability, but designed to restore good relations. Goodwill gestures can include a stand-alone item such as flowers, chocolates or vouchers and will not exceed 50 in value. In exceptional circumstances these can be made alongside compensatory payments. 22. Deductions from Compensation Payments If you owe us any amounts by way of rent arrears, outstanding service charges or sundry debts, this will be deducted from any compensation payments made. We may exercise discretion in cases of exceptional hardship. 23. Disputes and appeals If you wish to appeal the amount of compensation offered, you should follow our Comments, Complaints and Compliments policy. 24. Diversity and Inclusion A diversity and inclusion impact assessment has been completed as part of this policy review and a copy is available on request to policy@genesisha.org.uk. The assessment prompted us to ensure that the policy is easy to follow, understand and doesn t put customers off from submitting a request so we have streamlined several sections. It also encouraged us to include a variety of ways for customers to submit a request, to ensure that people with disabilities or access needs are able to submit their compensation request in their preferred manner. 25. Customer engagement and impact We consulted with our customers for feedback and comments about this policy. We consequently removed some jargon and simplified some of our statements. 26. Background Legislation Equality Act 2010 Housing Act 1996 The Secure Tenants of Local Authorities (Compensation for Improvements) Regulations 1994 (qualifying improvements) Housing Act 1985 Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 13

14 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1983 Land Compensation Act 1973 Homes and Community Agency Guidelines 27. Other useful links Compensation and Goodwill Gesture Procedure and Process Comments, Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure Decant Policy Disrepair Claims Policy Responsive Repairs Policy Property improvements for tenants and leaseholders policy Allocations and lettings policy Author: Ludmila Arnassalon, Policy Officer Approval date: 05 December 2017 Approved by: Policy owner: Accountable Director: Policy Review Group Head of Customer Experience Customer Experience Director Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 14

15 Appendix 1 Summary of compensation payments Category Qualifying Criteria Compensation Payment Compensation under right to repair A qualifying repair is one that does not cost more than 250. A list of qualifying repairs and timeframes are detailed see Appendix 2 A one off compensation payment of 10 can be claimed, plus 2 (up to a maximum of 50) for each day the repair continues to be outstanding after the revised time period. Loss of heating and/or Loss of hot water We will pay a set amount for each day after the first 48 hours that a customer is without heating (during October to March only) or without hot water (any time in the year). Compensation will be paid at a rate of 10% of the daily rent. Exception for temporary accommodation/leasehold/market Rent/Intermediate rent We will pay a set amount for each day after the first 48 hours that a you are without heating (during October to March only) or without hot water (any time in the year). Compensation will be paid at a rate of 10 per day. Compensation is paid up to a total amount of 50 Loss of room or facility Where a room is made completely unusable for 48 hours or more beyond our published repair response times, we follow a formula to calculate the amount of compensation due. The calculation takes in to account the type and number of rooms. No payment will be made for loss of the use of a garden, balcony, roof terrace, hallway or unused bedroom. We determine if a bedroom is unused in line with the eligibility and size criteria in our Lettings and allocations policy. You are entitled to a rebate on your weekly rent when you are without the following facilities (up to a maximum of 80% in total). Rent rebate rates: - Living room - 20% - Bedroom (if used) - 25% - No access to cooking facilities- 30% - No access to bathroom facilities -30% You are entitled to a 100% rebate on your weekly rent after the first 24 hours in which you are without any of the following facilities: - No sanitary provision of any Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 15

16 kind - No supply of cold water either from a tank or rising main - No habitable rooms (bedrooms and living room) Exception for Temporary accommodation In the case of temporary accommodation we will generally pay compensation where a bedroom, living room, bathroom or kitchen is made completely unusable due to on-going works or failure to carry out a repair and the customer is not decanted to another property. Compensation in these cases is made after the first seven days at a rate of 25 per week, for a maximum of four weeks. Exception for Market /Intermediate rent Compensation is not payable for the loss of a room or facility for market or intermediate rent customers. In the event of a loss of room or facility the customer is entitled to a rent rebate in line with the individual tenancy agreement. Right to compensation for improvements To qualify for Right to Compensation for Improvements, you must meet the following criteria; - You have obtained permission before carrying out the work. - The improvements were completed after 1 April The claim is made within 14 days of the tenancy ending - You have not exercised a Right to Buy or Right to Acquire the property - There is no outstanding order for possession. The details of designated improvements qualifying for compensation and how it is calculated please contact the Service Recovery and Complaints Team. Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 16

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18 Appendix 2 Right to repair, qualifying repairs Prescribed Defect period (working days) Total loss of electric power 1 Partial loss of electric power 3 Unsafe power or lighting socket, or electrical fitting 1 Total loss of water supply 1 Partial loss of water supply 3 Total or partial loss of gas supply 1 Blocked flue to open fire or boiler 1 Total or partial loss of space or water heating (31 Oct - 1 May) 1 Total or partial loss of space or water heating (30 Apr - 1 Nov) 3 Blocked or leaking foul drain, soil stack 1 Toilet pan (where there is no other working toilet in the dwelling-house) 1 Toilet not flushing (where there is no other working toilet in the dwelling-house) 1 Blocked sink, bath or basin 3 Tap which cannot be turned 3 Leaking from water or heating pipe, tank or cistern 1 Leaking roof 7 Insecure external window, door or lock 1 Loose or detached bannister or hand rail 3 Rotten timber flooring or stair tread 3 Door entry phone not working 7 Mechanical extractor fan in internal kitchen or bathroom not working 7 Comments, complaints and compliments Policy v4.0 - January 2017 Page 18