Complaints process

What is a complaint?

A complaint can be defined as:
“an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.”

Who can make a complaint?

Our complaints process is intended for residents, or prospective residents, of houses and homes that we directly manage and their representatives, but it applies to any stakeholder who wishes to make a complaint about one of our services or any other aspect of The Abbeyfield Society (TAS). If your complaint relates to one of our Member Societies, it will be addressed in line with the complaints procedure of the specific Society. If you need assistance, please email complaints@abbeyfield.com and the Complaints Team will direct your complaint to the appropriate person(s).

How to complain

If something goes wrong, your first course of action should be to raise the issue directly with the relevant manager or staff member concerned. In many cases, they will often be able to put things right very quickly and simply and no further action will be required.

However, if you do not feel comfortable doing this, or you are dissatisfied with the initial response, please make a complaint using the steps outlined below, and we will aim to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.

You can make a complaint in many ways – and you don’t have to put it in writing if you don’t want to. The simplest way to raise a complaint is through our Complaints Officer.

By email
You can send your complaint by email to complaints@abbeyfield.com.

The information you provide will be sent directly to the Complaints Officer.

By post
Alternatively you can send your complaint by post to:
Complaints Officer
The Abbeyfield Society
Hampton House
17-19 Hampton Lane
Solihull
West Midlands
B91 2QJ

By telephone
You can call 01727 857536 and provide details of your complaint which will be passed to the Complaints Officer.

If you have any difficulty in raising a complaint using the above methods, please let us know and we will make all reasonable adjustments necessary to enable you to make your complaint and to support you to get it resolved.

What to include in your complaint

When making a complaint, please tell us what went wrong; how you would like the matter to be resolved; and your name, address and contact details (so we can keep you up-to-date as we investigate and provide you with our response).

What happens when you complain

The Complaints Officer will acknowledge your complaint in writing within two working days. The acknowledgement will set out our understanding of your complaint and the desired outcomes you are seeking. The Complaints Officer will also provide you with the name of the manager who will be investigating the complaint at Stage 1 of our process, known as the Investigating Officer.

The Investigating Officer will provide a full written response within 10 working days, unless a later date is confirmed with you.

If you remain dissatisfied following this response, you can ask for your complaint to be escalated for a review by a Director at Stage 2 of our complaints procedure.

See our full Making a Complaint Guide for residents and their representatives for full details.

All complaints will be treated confidentially, and information will only be shared with staff as necessary to the investigation.

You have the right to expect:
• your complaint to be handled promptly and efficiently
• the process to be transparent and fair
• to be treated with respect at all times

In developing our complaints process, Abbeyfield has adopted the principles outlined in the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (launched April 2024), and guidance from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

In line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Code, we complete an annual self-assessment of our complaint handling procedures.

You can download the full self-assessment for 2024 here.

In addition, we have provided our Annual Complaint Handling & Service Improvement Report here

Associated Documents:

• Addressing a Complaint Standard Operating Procedure
• Complaints, Concerns and Compliments Policy
• The Abbeyfield Society Code of Conduct
• Quarterly Complaints Report - April 2024

_{Updated: 11 July 2024}