We are always pleased to hear from you when we get things right. We will pass on your comment to the member of staff or team concerned.
But we also want to hear if we get things wrong. Complaints are an important form of feedback. If you point out that our service has been poor, we can put things right and learn lessons for the future.
You are welcome to complain if you feel:
- we have failed in our duty as your landlord
- our policies or ways of working have unfairly affected you
- we have failed to apply our own rules or been inefficient, or
- a member of staff, or someone working on our behalf, has behaved badly or been rude to you.
Talking to us informally
We want to sort out your problem as quickly as possible. If you talk to a member of staff, they will try to resolve things straight away.
But if your complaint is more serious, you may want to use our formal complaints process.
Please ask if you need an interpreter or a translation at any stage.
Getting additional help
You may find it useful to get independent advice from an advice or law centre.
At any stage, we may also offer the option of mediation. This is where a trained, independent person comes in to listen to both sides and helps to resolve the problem. We would not arrange this without asking you first.
Our formal complaints process
You can take your complaint to our Head of Service by:
- phoning the office on 020 8524 6987
- emailing us at complaints@wfha.org.uk, or
- writing to us (address below).
We will aim to respond within 10 working days. Our Head of Department may arrange to sort things out by visiting you, or inviting you to the office.
If you are still unhappy, you can take your complaint to stage 2.
You can take your complaint further by contacting the Director of Housing. You can do this in writing, on the phone or by email to complaints@wfha.org.uk
Please explain why you are still unhappy and what you would like us to do about it.
Our Director of Department will investigate and aim to send you a written response within 20 working days of hearing from you.
If you are satisfied with the appeal response, then the complaint and appeal will be recorded as closed. However, if you are still dissatisfied with the stage 2 response to the appeal you can ask the Housing Ombudsman to help resolve the matter.
Taking your housing complaint outside WFHA
To contact the Housing Ombudsman, write to:
Housing Ombudsman Service
Liverpool
L33 7WQ
Phone: 0300 111 3000
Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9.15am to 5.15pm (except public holidays).
info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
You can also submit your complaint and download supporting documents using their online form.
After receiving our final response, you have 12 months to make an appeal to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Please click here to read WFHA’s Complaints and Compliments Policy
Please click here to read WFHA’s Complaints and Compliments easy to read guide
Please click here for WFHA’s Complaints and Compliments Equality Monitoring form
In July 2020, the Housing Ombudsman published its Complaint Handling Code. This sets out how landlords should respond to complaints effectively and fairly. Our policy and procedure is aligned with the code, and please click here to see our self assessment form.