Complaints

If, after we have investigated and responded to your complaint at Stage 1, you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to request that your case is escalated to Stage 2 (the final stage) of our process where it will be reviewed and further investigated. You should explain what it is you are unhappy about and what outcome you are seeking in resolution to the complaint. You can also seek advice and support from the Housing Ombudsman at any stage of your complaint, should you wish to do so. More information about Stage 2 can be found in our Complaint’s FAQ’s.

At Stage 2 of our complaints process, your complaint will be reviewed in more detail by a more senior member of Sanctuary, who will:

• Look fairly and honestly at the concerns that you have raised.
• Carefully consider the impact that this has had on you and your family.
• Explain what action can be taken to resolve the complaint.

The purpose of our investigation is to assess whether staff have responded properly to a given situation and to decide whether their actions were fair under the circumstances.

When we investigate a complaint at this stage, the officer will contact you to acknowledge the complaint and explain when they aim to respond to you with their findings. They may also ask you to give more details about your concerns, or share any other information that you want us to look at. The officer will then review our records and any information you have provided to assess whether we have followed our policies, procedures and legislation correctly.

They will also consider any other factors which may affect your case need to ensure you have been treated in a reasonable way.

Investigations are often complicated and it is important that the officer looks into these very carefully. Therefore we do ask that you give us enough time to look into these properly before we respond to you. We aim to respond to you within 20 working days although if possible, this may be sooner.

If you are unhappy with our response and we have closed your complaint, you have the right to escalate your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service, an independent body that looks into how landlords have handled complaints.

The Housing Ombudsman is an independent organisation which deals with disputes between social landlords and their residents.

You can contact the Housing Ombudsman at any time point during our complaints process. You don't need to wait until the end. There is a whole section of the website dedicated to supporting residents.

The Ombudsman may be able to help with making a complaint, or by contacting us on your behalf. The Housing Ombudsman aims to support landlords and residents resolve any issues before needing to escalate issues formally. To find out more, you can visit the Housing Ombudsman website.

You can contact the Housing Ombudsman in any of the following ways:

Telephone: 0300 111 3000

9.00am-05.00pm: Mon, Tues, Weds, Fri

9.00am-3.30pm: Thurs (lines are closed for staff training every Thursday from 3.30pm-5.00pm)

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

Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Complaint form: Fill in the online complaint form

The Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code aims to enable landlords to resolve complaints raised by their residents quickly and to use the learning from complaints to drive service improvements.

We review our compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code annually with of our Complaints Community of Interest Group.

View our latest Self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code (PDF 136KB)

Our governing body for complaints works with us to ensure we meet regulatory and industry requirements. It also makes sure that we are transparent and accountable.

Our Non-Executive and Executive Members Responsible for Complaints are Trudi Elliot, and Nicole Seymour, respectively. They have peer reviewed our customer compliant process to make sure it is fit for purpose.