Background

From time to time residents may wish to raise matters that concern them. Usually these can be resolved informally through an approach to the office. If this fails, the complainant should follow this Complaints Procedure.

1. GENERAL GUIDELINES

1.1 It is important that staff respond to complaints in an open and non-defensive manner.

1.2 Staff should look for solutions to the issues rather than looking for the rights or wrongs of how something has been dealt with and adopt a positive and problem-solving approach. This may involve having a collaborative and cooperative approach.

1.3 Staff should ask the resident how they would like the situation resolved and see if this can be done. Use initiative and discuss with colleagues if resources are needed to resolve the situation.

1.4 Staff should deal with complaints on their merits and act independently and with an open mind.

1.5 Staff should take measures to address any actual or perceived conflict of interest and keep the complaint confidential as far as possible, with information only disclosed if necessary to properly investigate the matter.

1.6 Staff must consider all information and evidence carefully.

1.7 Staff should look beyond the circumstances of the individual complaint and consider whether anything needs to change in terms of process or systems to the benefit of all residents.

1.8 Take responsibility for helping the complainant resolve the problem satisfactorily and act professionally throughout.

1.9 Offer an apology, if appropriate, and take collective responsibility for any shortfalls identified through the process.

1.10 Staff should ask for feedback on how things could have been done differently or better.

1.11 Staff should also let residents know that there are organisations that can provide advice such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.

2. INFORMAL RESOLUTION

2.1 All staff should aim to prevent complaints through the efficient provision of services. To avoid an issue escalating into a formal complaint, staff should discuss matters in full with the complainant at the first sign of dissatisfaction.

2.2 Staff deal with many tenancy or repair issues on a day-to-day basis and whilst the majority will be dealt with quickly and to the satisfaction of residents, it is inevitable that a number will take longer to resolve or be more contentious. If efforts fail at the informal stage, the complainant should be advised that they have the right to make a formal complaint in writing if they so wish.

2.3 Certain types of complaints may be linked to claims for compensation. Where this occurs, staff should refer to the policy on compensation for guidance on how to proceed and how to advise the complainant to make a claim.

2.4 Complaints addressed to members of the Board of Management or Resident Representatives will be passed to the Chief Executive. Thorough records must be kept of all contact with the complainant at all stages of the process (on SharePoint).

3. DEFINITION OF A COMPLAINT

3.1 Effective complaint handling should be a resident-friendly process that enables residents to be heard and understood. The starting point for this is a mutual understanding of what constitutes a complaint.

3.2 As stated in the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code, a complaint shall 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”.

3.3 The resident does not have to use the word “complaint” in order for it to be treated as such.

3.4 Staff should recognise the difference between a service request (pre-complaint), survey feedback (for example) and a formal complaint, and take appropriate steps to resolve the issue for residents as early as possible.

4. FORMAL PROCEDURE – STAGE 1

4.1 When a formal complaint is received, a copy should be forwarded to the Chair of the Resident Services Committee, advising which staff member (Investigating Complaints Officer) will deal with the complaint. This will usually be the Chief Executive.

4.2 The Chief Executive will open a Complaint File on SharePoint and aim to send an acknowledgement response to the resident within 2 working days, indicating that a full response will be sent within 10 working days.

4.3 If the Chief Executive Officer is on annual leave or absent, the steps above should be carried out by the Office and Accounts Co-Ordinator.

4.4 The Investigating Complaints Officer should send a reply to the complainant within ten working days of the date of receipt shown on the original complaint. The response should address all points raised, include an apology if appropriate, and should also include the following:

• The complaint stage.
• The outcome of the complaint.
• The reasons for any decisions made.
• The details of any remedy offered to put things right.
• Details of any outstanding actions.
• Details of how to escalate the matter if dissatisfied.
• The response should inform the resident of the pre-decision of the Stage 1 complaint, giving the resident a further opportunity to submit any relevant information, before the final decision is made.

4.5 Where the problem is a recurring issue, the Investigating Complaints Officer should consider any older reports as part of the background to the complaint if this will help resolve the issue for the resident.

4.6 The Investigating Complaints Officer may meet with either the complainant or the person or persons against whom the complaint has been made. Involved parties are permitted at these meetings to have support, but not support from someone who is part of the legal profession.

4.7 Where the resident raises additional complaints during the stage one investigation, these should be included in the stage one response if they are relevant and the stage one response has not yet been issued. Where the stage one response has been issued, or it would unreasonably delay the response, the complaint should be logged as a new complaint.

4.8 The Investigating Complaints Officer must ensure that all response dates are logged onto the Complaints File.

4.9 If a full reply is not possible, due to the level of investigation involved, a substantial holding reply MUST be sent within 10 working days and each 10 days thereafter until a full reply is issued.

4.10 At this stage, if appropriate, we may offer the option of mediation as a way of resolving the complaint, but this will require the complainant’s agreement.

4.11 If a response cannot be provided within 10 working days, an extension may be required to enable a full investigation of the complaint. Any extension should be agreed by both parties wherever possible.

4.12 If the complainant accepts the Association’s reply, or no response is received from them within 28 working days, the complaint should be treated as resolved.

5. FORMAL PROCEDURE – STAGE 2 (APPEAL)

5.1 If the complainant is not satisfied after the end of Stage 1, the procedure moves to Stage 2 (Appeal). The complainant should again put their concerns in writing.

5.2 On receipt of a Stage 2 complaint, a copy should be forwarded to the Chair of the Resident Services Committee. The complaint should be acknowledged within 2 working days, indicating that a full response will be sent within 20 working days.

5.3 This should then be passed to members of the Resident Services Committee who have not been involved in Stage 1, so they can investigate the complaint.

5.4 The Resident Services Committee will review the case and will respond in full to the Stage 2 complaint within 20 working days. The response should inform the resident of the pre-decision of the Stage 2 complaint, giving the resident a further opportunity to submit any relevant information before the final decision is made.

5.5 The Investigating Complaints Officer may meet with either the complainant or the person or persons against whom the complaint has been made. Involved parties are permitted at these meetings to have support, but not from someone who is part of the legal profession.

5.6 If a response cannot be provided within 20 working days, an extension may be required to enable a full investigation of the complaint. Any extension should be agreed by both parties wherever possible.

5.7 If an agreement cannot be reached over an extension period, the Resident Services Committee should provide the Housing Ombudsman’s contact details so the resident can challenge the plan for responding and/or the proposed timelines of the response.

5.8 If the complainant accepts the Association’s reply, or no response is received from them within 28 working days, the complaint should be treated as resolved.

6. REFERRAL TO THE HOUSING OMBUDSMAN

6.1 Residents can refer their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman at any stage in the complaints process.

6.2 All letters received from the Ombudsman must be acknowledged within 2 working days and the enquiry should be passed to the Chief Executive or relevant senior manager to deal with. All requested information from the Ombudsman must be dispatched as soon as possible, with a target date of 15 working days from the date of receipt. If a response cannot be provided within this timeframe, we shall provide the Ombudsman with an explanation for the delay.

6.3 The Chief Executive must inform the Chair of the Resident Services Committee of any correspondence with the Ombudsman and thorough records must be kept. Depending on the decision of the Ombudsman, the Board must consider any implications on policy, procedure, or service delivery.

6.4 The findings of the Ombudsman must be reported in full to the Board of Management.

6.5 All ongoing cases being investigated by the Ombudsman must be reviewed monthly by the CEO in conjunction with the Chair of the Resident Services Committee.

6.6 The Ombudsman should be informed of any change of circumstances in writing.

Housing Ombudsman Service
P O Box 152,
Liverpool,
L33 7WQ

Tel: 0300 111 3000
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Further information from the Housing Ombudsman’s Guidance on complaints can be found here.

7. THE 2010 EQUALITY ACT AND REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS

7.1 We are committed to embedding the 2010 Equality Act into our Policies and Procedures. As part of this commitment, staff should facilitate reasonable adjustments and adapt our standard policies and procedures wherever possible, in order to ensure every individual can make a complaint.

7.2 To make an adjustment means to change work practices to avoid or correct the disadvantage to a person with a disability. This may include:

• Allowing more time than we would usually for someone to provide information that we needed.
• Providing specialist equipment or additional support such as a sign language interpreter.

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Policy on unreasonably persistent, vexatious, or abusive complaints or complainants

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Most of the complaints we deal with will be straightforward. However, there may be cases where individuals pursue their complaints in a manner which can either impede the complaint investigation process or can have a significant impact on the resources of the Association in handling the complaint. This situation can arise both during a complaint investigation and at the point when a complaint has been closed.

2. OUR APPROACH

2.1 We recognise that people may act out of character in times of trouble or distress, particularly if they feel that Barnet Overseas Students Housing Association has not provided an adequate service. However, we still expect our staff to be treated with courtesy and respect. Likewise, we expect staff and contractors providing services on our behalf to conduct themselves in a professional manner, demonstrating courtesy and respect when communicating with residents.

2.2 We will not tolerate abusive, offensive, or threatening behaviour towards staff or contractors providing services on our behalf.

3. DEFINITIONS

3.1 We define unreasonably persistent and vexatious complainants as those complainants who, because of the nature or frequency of their contacts, hinder consideration of their or other people’s complaints. The description “unreasonably persistent” and “vexatious” may apply separately or jointly to a complainant. A vexatious complainant is someone who pursues a complaint where it is not reasonable to do so because of the subject matter, its history, or the way the complaint is being pursued.

3.2 Features of an unreasonably persistent and/or vexatious complainant are listed in Appendix 1 to this policy.

4. UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR

4.1 We do not expect staff to tolerate unacceptable behaviour by complainants or any resident.

4.2 Unacceptable behaviour includes behaviour which is abusive, offensive, or threatening and may include:

• Using abusive or foul language face-to-face or on the telephone.
• Sending multiple messages by email, phone (voicemail or text), or social media.

5. UNREASONABLE DEMANDS

5.1 Residents may make what we consider unreasonable demands through the amount of information they seek or provide, the nature and scale of service they expect, or the number of approaches they make. Examples could be demanding a response within an unreasonable timescale, insisting on seeing or speaking to a member of staff, continual phone calls, emails or letters, or repeatedly changing the substance of the complaint and raising unrelated concerns. We consider these demands unacceptable and unreasonable if they start to impact on our work.

6. ASSESSING THE COMPLAINT AS PERSISTENT OR VEXATIOUS

6.1 The aim of this policy is to ensure that in all circumstances we deal with all complainants in a consistent, fair, and reasonable manner. It sets out how we identify which complainants will be treated as vexatious or unreasonably persistent and what we will do in those circumstances. The decision to define a complainant as vexatious will be made by the CEO. A report and supporting evidence must be submitted for the CEO to determine a vexatious complainant. Any complainant identified as vexatious must be written to, advising why their access to the complaint’s procedure has been restricted and when their vexatious status will be reviewed.

6.2 As part of our commitment to embed the Equality Act 2010 into our practices, we will ensure that any issues of vulnerability are considered when assessing whether a complaint or complainant may be classed as vexatious.

6.3 We will first ensure that the complaint is being or has been investigated fully in accordance with the complaint’s procedure.

6.4 We will take account of the fact that raising legitimate queries or criticisms of a complaint process as it progresses, for example if agreed timescales are not adhered to, will not in itself lead to someone being regarded as a vexatious or an unreasonably persistent complainant.

6.5 Likewise, the fact that a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of a complaint and wishes to challenge it once, or more than once, is not necessarily cause for the person to be labelled vexatious or unreasonably persistent.

6.6 No complainant can be identified as a vexatious complainant forever. The status of the complainant must be reviewed every 6 months to ensure that we are fair in our processes.

Appendix 1

An unreasonably persistent and/or vexatious complainant may:

• Refuse to specify the grounds of a complaint despite offers of assistance.
• Refuse to co-operate with the complaints investigation process while still wishing their complaint to be resolved.
• Refuse to accept that issues are not within the remit of the complaints policy and procedure despite having been provided with information about the scope of the policy and procedure.
• Refuse to accept that issues are not within the power of the Association to investigate, change, or influence.
• Insist on the complaint being dealt with in ways which are incompatible with the complaint’s procedure or good practice (for example, insisting there must not be any written record of the complaint).
• Make what appear to be groundless complaints about the staff dealing with the complaints and seek to have them dismissed or replaced.
• Make an unreasonable number of contacts, by any means, in relation to a specific complaint or complaints.
• Make persistent and unreasonable demands or expectations of staff and/or the complaints process after the unreasonableness has been explained to the complainant.
• Harass, verbally abuse, or otherwise seek to intimidate staff dealing with their complaint by use of foul, inappropriate, offensive, or racist language.
• Raise new issues while a complaint is being addressed that were not part of the complaint at the start of the complaint process.
• Introduce irrelevant new information while the complaint is being investigated and expect this to be considered and commented on.
• Change the substance or basis of the complaint without reasonable justification while the complaint is being addressed.
• Adopt an excessively ‘scattergun’ approach, for instance pursuing a complaint or complaints not only with the Association, but also with a Member of Parliament, elected councillors, the police, and/or solicitors at the same time.
• Refuse to accept the outcome of the complaint process after its conclusion and/or denying that an adequate response has been given.
• Make the same complaint repeatedly, perhaps with minor differences, after the complaint’s procedure has been concluded, and insist that the minor differences make these ‘new’ complaints which should be put through the full complaints procedure.
• Persist in seeking an outcome which we have explained is unrealistic for legal or policy (or other valid) reasons.
• Refuse to accept documented evidence as factual.

Implemented: 1st April 2024
Next review: January 2027