Complaint handling Code self-assessment and annual report

The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code provides clear guidance about how housing providers like Thirteen group should deal with customer complaints.

We have looked at the ways we meet the guidelines set out in the Code to understand what we are good at and which parts of the complaints process we need to get better at.

The aim of this self assessment is to assess whether we are compliant and to identify where we can improve.

Here is a snapshot below of how we measure up against the Housing Ombudsman’s complaints handling code. 

Download our 2023/24 Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 

Board Response

Customer Committee Chair, Katy Wilburn who is the Thirteen Board Member Responsible for Complaints has been part of the review and scrutiny of this report, and also attends the Customer Involvement Complaints quarterly stream meetings, alongside the Chair of the Board Jane Earl. This report was shared with the Customer Committee on 11 July 2024.

The Board response to this report is as follows;

“The Board is satisfied that our approach to complaint handling remains a high priority and that we are compliant with the Complaint Handling Code, evidenced in the self-assessment and Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report. Over the next 12-24 months we expect to see continued focus on service improvement and learning outcomes from complaints, alongside other forms of customer feedback, to ensure Thirteen can continue to demonstrate their commitment to customers. The Board wish to extend their thanks to the residents who form Customer Involvement group for their support and engagement in the completion of the self-assessment and Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report.”

How we deal with complaints?

When you make a complaint, we'll let you know we've received it within 1 working day and it will be logged at Stage 1. We'll then assign it to one of our specialist Customer Recovery Coordinators. They will:

• Call you in the first instance or contact you by your preferred method of contact to confirm the scope of your complaint
• Let you know how long it's likely to take to resolve
• Provide you with a point of contact for any questions you might have

Once your complaint has been investigated, we will contact you regarding our findings. Details will be provided on the outcome of your complaint as well as sharing a letter detailing their investigation.

This could include:

• Making sure any outstanding work has been completed
• Taking appropriate action to improve our services
• Providing further training and development for our staff
• Offering you compensation if appropriate

We hope to resolve all Stage 1 complaints within 5 working days, unless we notify you it will take longer to resolve. If we are unable to speak to you over the phone, we will contact you via email or post with the outcome letter.

We'll only close your complaint when you have been given an outcome from us either by phone, letter or email.

Learning from complaints

We take learnings from the complaints we receive as this helps us to provide the best service possible to our customers. You can find out more about how your feedback helps to shape our services here:​

• July to September 2024 - how we are performing
• April to June 2024 - how we are performing
• January to March 2024 - how we are performing
• October to December 2023 - how we are performing
• July to September 2023 - how we are performing
• April to June 2023 - how we are performing

What if I’m unhappy with the outcome of my complaint?

If you are unhappy about the outcome of your complaint, you can ask us to take it to Stage 2 of our complaint’s procedure.

We'll arrange for a senior member of our team to review your complaint. They'll consider how we investigated and managed your original complaint:

• Did we follow policies and procedures correctly?
• Were we fair?
• Did we investigate it fully?
• Were the actions we took to resolve it sufficient?
• What lessons can we learn from it?

If a complaint is reviewed at Stage 2 of the process, we'll let you know the outcome within 10 working days of your Stage 2 complaint.

What if I'm still not satisfied?

If you're unhappy with our final decision, you can:

• Contact the independent Housing Ombudsman Service here. (The Housing Ombudsman investigate complaints and resolve disputes involving the tenants and leaseholders of social landlords (housing associations and local authorities).

Review by the Housing Ombudsman Service

To have your complaint reviewed by the Housing Ombudsman Service, you'll have to:

• Have gone through our complete complaints procedure both Stage 1 & 2

We will co-operate with the Housing Ombudsman Service. We will also comply with any orders and put things right if required.

More information

You can find more details about our complaints policy and procedure, and what to do if you’re not satisfied with our response in our complaints policy and complaints procedure documents on our policies webpage.

You can read more information about making a complaint or sending a compliment in our leaflet. 

You can visit the Housing Ombudsman's website and read their complaints handling code here.  This code enables landlords like Thirteen to resolve complaints quickly, and use the learning to improve our services. All landlords are required to evaluate their current complaint handling procedures against this code, and the Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code: self-assessment form helps us do this.

Read our complaint handling code self-assessment.

We're proud to say that we already comply with many areas of the code, and in some cases our operating procedures are delivered to a higher standard than required. We commit to review the code in advance of making any alterations to our complaints service.

Who is responsible for complaints? 

David Ripley, executive director of customer services is our senior lead accountable for complaint handling. It is his responsibility to assess any themes or trends to identify potential systemic issues, serious risks, or policies and procedures that require revision.

Our member responsible for complaints (MRC) is Katy Wilburn. Katy is a non-executive director of Thirteen Group board. It is her responsibility for complaints to support a positive complaint handling culture.