Complaints

Not happy with our service? - tell us!

We try our best to make sure nothing goes wrong but we want to hear from you if it does!

If you’re unhappy with the service we have provided, please tell us.

Your complaint will help us put things right and improve our service to you and other people in future.

Our complaints procedure helps you tell us what has gone wrong and gives us all the information we need to put things right.

We take all complaints seriously and believe that we can learn from our mistakes to improve the service we give our customers..

What is a complaint?

It’s when you tell us you are not happy because of:

• the standard of service you get from Blyth Valley Housing, or
• our failure to do something we agreed to do, or
• the way you were treated

Please remember: making a complaint will not affect your right to fair treatment and good service from us!

How do I complain?

You can tell us what is wrong in person, by phone or in writing. If you wish, get a friend or relative to do this for you or come with you.

Often we can sort out your complaint on the spot! If we can’t, we will investigate your complaint.

Fill in a complaint form

If you’re not satisfied with the response fill in a customer complaints form available here or from any local office, giving as much detail about your complaint as possible.

When you receive the form please give as much detail as possible about your complaint. We will fully investigate your complaint.

If you need help filling in a complaint form, get a friend or relative to help you or ask a member of staff at the local office.

What will happen to my complaint?

Stage 1

We will:

• acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days
• tell you who will be investigating your complaint
• write a full response to your complaint within 2 weeks. If we can’t do this, we will send you a letter explaining why there is a delay

In our reply we will:

• explain our decision
• apologise if we failed in our service to you
• say what we’ll do to put things right
• explain what to do if you’re not happy with our response.

Stage 2 — if you are still dissatisfied

We will:

• meet you to discuss your complaint
• write a full response to you or update you within 10 working days
• send you details of your right to appeal

Stage 3 — appeal

We will:

• arrange for your appeal to be considered by the Customer Services Committee, which is made up of Board Members
• give you written confirmation of the Customer Services Committee decision.
• Your complaint details will remain confidential at all times.

Complaints - Standards of Service

In dealing with your complaint we’ll:

• treat your complaint seriously
• try and resolve it on the spot
• help you write out your complaint if needed.
• We regularly monitor complaints.

Remedy and compensation

We can take various steps to put things right if we have made a mistake. We can:

• apologise
• carry out work, such as repairs
• review a policy
• change a decision
• improve procedures and train staff in any changes.
• If we find you have been disadvantaged in some way, we will consider paying compensation. Generally, compensation will be in recognition of any financial loss you have had.

Who else can help?

Apart from asking for help from a friend or relative or a staff member of Blyth Valley Housing, you can also contact:

• your local councillor; or
• a tenants representative, or
• your MP, or
• the Citizens Advice Bureau

You can get details of your local councillor, tenants representative, MP and the nearest Citizens Advice Bureau from any local housing office.

The Local Government Ombudsman is an independent person who can investigate a complaint, but normally only after it has gone through our own complaints procedure.  For an information leaflet, please contact your local office or you can visit the Local Government Ombudsman Website.

You can also consult a solicitor for legal and other advice.

You can view a copy of this information on our leaflet Not Happy With Our Service? - Tell Us! here.

We try our best to make sure nothing goes wrong but we want to hear from you if it does!

Further Information

You can obtain further information from the following:

Blyth Valley Housing, Dinsdale House, 75 Marine Terrace, Blyth NE24 2LN.

Telephone: 01670 542000

RNID Typetalk service prefix number 18001

EMail: Complaints