Complaints and compliments
Let us know how we're doing
Complaints
Sometimes things don’t go quite right or as well as they should. If you’re unhappy with any aspect of our services, please tell us so we can put things right.
If you need us to provide a service or fix a problem, please report it and we will take action to resolve your service request. If you’re not happy with the standard of service provided, you can enter our complaint process as outlined below.
Our complaints process:
We’ll log and acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days.
We’ll investigate your complaint and aim to provide a full written response within 10 working days of your complaint acknowledgement date.
If our investigation needs more time, we will give you a reason for any extension and a new deadline.
If you’re not happy with our decision, you can ask for a review of how your complaint was handled. You have 10 days from receiving the decision to do this.
A senior manager will review our original investigation and outcome, to ensure it was fair and thorough. The reviewing manager will be different to the original investigator.
We’ll aim to let you know the review outcome within 20 working days of your review acknowledgement date.
If you’re still not happy with our response you can appeal to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Salix Homes is a member of the Housing Ombudsman Service. This is a free, independent complaint resolution service.
A copy of our complaints self-assessment against the Complaints Handling Code is available for download. This shows how well we think we are handling our complaints. We send this to the Ombudsman annually.
Our Board and Customer Committee retain oversight of complaints, how we are responding to them and how we are identifying and applying any lessons learned from complaints.
The Chair of the Board is the Member responsible for complaints – making sure that the Board are aware of how we are responding to complaints and getting assurance that we are complying with the Complaints Handling Code.
Complaints Performance
Our latest Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report is available to read in the ‘Complaints information and documents’ downloads section.
Our Board said:
“At its meeting on 4 June 2024, the Board of Salix Homes Ltd. confirmed that it is assured that the organisation’s approach to handling customer complaints is robust and meets the requirements set out in the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
The Board is assured that the self-assessment against the Complaints Handling Code is a true reflection of Salix Homes Complaints Handling and notes that both the Board Member Responsible for Complaints, Jim Battle, and the Customer Committee have reviewed all the evidence showing how Salix Homes’ meets each element of the Complaints Handling Code.
Both Jim Battle and Charlotte Haines (Chair of the Customer Committee) were able to provide assurance to the Board that they were happy with the evidence provided, the robustness of the Salix Homes approach to complaint handling and how Salix learn from complaints.”
Our Customer Committee said:
“The Customer Committee is pleased to note that Salix Homes’ approach to handling customer complaints is robust and meets the requirements set out in the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
While our influence on learning from complaints has already resulted in positive outcomes for customers, we will continue to ensure ongoing assurance through improved performance and service delivery.”
Complaints data
Key statistics: 2023-2024
- 99% of complaints were acknowledged within 5 working days
- Top three complaint themes: unresolved issue, lack of communication, and time taken
- We received three Housing Ombudsman determinations, with four findings of maladministration
Learnings from complaints are recorded and discussed monthly by managers.
We also received a total of 288 compliments.
319
Stage 1 formal complaints received
83%
of complaints resolved at Stage 1
55
complaints escalated to Stage 2
96%
of Stage 2 responses sent within 20 working days from receipt of the complaint
Compliments
When something's gone really well or you've had a great service, let us know.
We'll pass on your compliment to the individual staff member or team to tell them how pleased you are.
Give a complimentSocial housing issue? Know your rights, know how to complain
Everyone deserves a home that is safe, secure, and well maintained. If you live in social housing, your landlord is responsible for fixing issues including damp and mould, leaks, broken locks or changes you need to your home if you’re disabled. They can also help with anti-social behaviour, like noisy neighbours.
Know the steps to get an issue fixed.
- Report it to your landlord. Then, if it is not fixed…
- Complain through your landlord’s complaint process, and if you’re not happy with the final response from your landlord…
- Escalate your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
Advice about contacting the Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman is impartial, will investigate fairly and can order your landlord to take action.
Once the Housing Ombudsman has ruled against a landlord, they must show they are taking action within 6-8 weeks.
Know your rights:
Some recent compliments we’ve received from our customers…
"I'm extremely grateful for everything"
I have previously had some financial struggles and Steph has done everything in her power to ensure I am OK, she has helped me with my rent arrears and provided me with other support which I genuinely couldn't be more appreciative of.
She is an absolute asset to your team.
"An excellent representative"
Tim was so professional, taking time to let us tell him the full facts, and he went out of his way to contact the repairs team to get a plumber out to us.
I cannot thank him enough, not just that we now have a new tap and running water, but he cheered me up and made me feel ok about the situation.
Customer has trust in Claire
I would once again like to thank you for your swift response today regarding my fob and also for rectifying the satellite dish issue. I feel like I can trust you when you say you will get something done.
Customer thanks "lovely fella"
Justin came to check my property and not only did he look into the issue reported, but also noticed another repair which needed doing. He got someone out the next day too and fixed this for me.
Justin is a lovely fella, golden, he is so nice and I can't thank him enough.
Manage my home
All the information you need about your home and tenancy - repairs, payments, safety and more
Manage my home
How we can help you
An extra helping hand to our customers and local communities
How we can help you