BCHF
Complaints, Compliments & Feedback
Hearing from our customers is very important to us. We can learn from customer feedback; what we are doing well, what we may need to improve and when we get things wrong, how we can put them right.
We want you to tell us when we:
- provided you with very good service;
- failed to do something we should have done;
- were slow or inefficient in helping you;
- treated you badly or impolitely; or
- provided an unsatisfactory service in any other way.
For information on how to make a comment, compliment or complaint please download our Customer Feedback leaflet (below) or submit an online feedback report.
Compliments and Suggestions
If you have a suggestion on how we can improve our service we would like to hear from you. If you are happy with any part of the service we would also like to hear about this too. You can download and complete the form on the Customer Feedback leaflet below, send us feedback online or tell a member of staff.
How do I make a complaint?
We encourage you to contact the person you would normally deal with at BCHF. We will try to sort out the problem informally. If you don’t want to do this or are not satisfied with the outcome you can make a formal complaint using the following procedure which has three stages.
1. How to make a formal complaint
Please make your complaint in writing. You can use the suggestions, complaints or compliments form on our Customer Feedback leaflet (below), submit your complaint online or write a letter. If there is any reason why you cannot do this please tell us and we will help. We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days of receiving it. We will aim to sort out your complaint within eight working days. If this is not possible, we will write to explain why, what we are doing to sort out the problem and how long this should take. This is stage one.
2. If you are not satisfied
If you are not happy with our response and want to take things further you can put your case to the Chief Executive in writing. She/he will investigate the matter and respond to you within eight working days. This is stage two.
3. Still not satisfied?
If you are still not satisfied with our response you can put your case to an appeals panel made up of at least two members of BCHF’s Board. The panel will either meet you in person or consider a written appeal if you prefer. They will let you know the outcome of the appeal within 20 working days. This is stage three and the final stage of our internal complaints procedure.
What if I am not happy with the outcome?
If you are still not satisfied, you may choose to take the complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is an independent 'watchdog' who can investigate for you if our complaints procedure has not put things right. You can contact the Housing Ombudsman at:
Independent Housing
Ombudsman Scheme
Norman House
105-109 Strand
London. WC2R 0AA
Tel: 020 7836 3630
Please note that you have a right to lodge complaints of discrimination in the County Court on the grounds of race or gender.
Tenants also have rights under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. There is a six month limit within which complaints must be made.
Further advice may be available from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau.
What happens if my complaint is upheld?
We will apologise and take steps to put things right and make sure that the situation does not happen again. We will tell you this in our written reply.
