If things go well, we are always pleased to hear from you. We can pass on your compliment to the member of staff involved.
If things go wrong and you feel we have treated you unfairly, you are welcome to make a complaint. We value complaints and use them to learn about and improve our services.
To help us put things right, we want you to tell us when you’re unhappy with:
- a service we have provided (directly or through one of our contractors), or
- a decision we have made.
At Ekaya we strive to deliver a great service to our residents, clients and others we have contact with. We know that sometimes we get it wrong and when we do, this can create problems for you and reduces your trust in Ekaya. Ekaya operates a Complaints Policy which is compliant with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Scheme. When we get it wrong, our aim is to put things right for you quickly and easily, apologise for the mistake, and where we can, learn lessons from what you have shared with us so we don’t make the same mistake again.
- You can make a complaint in person, over the phone, by letter, by electronic means such an email or text, or through a third party. You will not be treated any less favourably as a result of making a complaint to Ekaya.
- We have reviewed our approach to complaints handling in response to a new Complaints Handling Code, issued by the Housing Ombudsman. Our self-assessment, which was approved by our Board, is available to view self-assessment .
However, we will not treat your comments as a complaint if:
- you are making a first request for a service, such as a repair
- you are reporting a neighbour dispute or anti-social behaviour (unless you think we have failed to deal with a disagreement properly), or
- the issue occurred more than twelve months ago.
View our complaints policy and other policies.
Who can complain
Anyone who has received a service from Ekaya, or a body acting on our behalf, can make a complaint. This includes:
- residents, or would-be residents of our general needs and supported housing, and
- users of our support and floating support services.
How you can make a complaint
You can make a complaint:
- by email to info@ekaya.co.uk
- in a letter to head office
- by phone, or
- in person.
We deal with most complaints as soon as we hear from you. We aim to find a solution to your problem as quickly as we can, without the need for lengthy investigations. However, if you don’t feel we have ‘put things right’ yet, you can go on to use our formal complaints process.
Our complaints process
Stage 1 – Acknowledgement
When you contact us at Stage 1, the manager of the service you are complaining about must acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days of receiving it. They will investigate and send a written response within 10 working days of acknowledging your complaint. If the investigation will take longer, we will let you know why.
The manager’s response will clearly set out what we plan to do by when. We will monitor our progress on our promises.
Stage 2 – Final stage
If you remain dissatisfied after receiving the stage 1 response, you can request to progress your complaint to the final stage. At this stage, we must respond within 20 working days.
Remember that landlords are obligated to take complaints seriously and cannot punish tenants for raising issues or making complaints.
Taking your complaint outside Ekaya
After receiving our final response, you have 12 months to make an appeal to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
You can do this in the following ways:
- online at: Housing Ombudsman
- by email to: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
- by phoning: 0300 111 3000, or
- by writing to: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ. However, the Service strongly recommends that you use their online form or email instead. (There may be delays if you post your complaint.)
You can ask a ‘designated person’ (usually an MP or councillor) to help if you need this.
The Housing Ombudsman Service can also offer advice while you are completing our process.