Cornwall Rural Housing Association (CRHA) aspires to provide a good quality housing service meeting the needs and wishes of people living in the rural areas of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Our policy aims to get things right first time, however, there may be times when we do not meet our standards. Our complaints procedure covers the steps to deal with a complaint.
We define a complaint as:-
"an expression of dissatisfaction, not resolved immediately to the customer's satisfaction, about the level, quality or nature of a service provided".
CRHA will always try to resolve problems quickly, at the first point of contact if possible. If the problem can be resolved within 48 hours with a “get it right first time” approach to the complainant's satisfaction, then the formal complaints process will not be invoked. Depending on the complaint e.g. customer chasing a repair, this will be classed as a service request. If CRHA do not resolve the issue raised to the complainants requirements or satisfaction the complainant has the opportunity to escalate it to Stage 1 of the formal complaints process.
If you do wish to make a complaint, please remember to provide as much detail as possible and to state clearly what you think should be done to solve your problem. It will also be helpful if you can tell us if you have reported this problem previously and, if so, to whom and when. Do not forget to provide us with details of your name, address and telephone number.
Complaints must be made within 12 months of the incident taking place.
CRHA operate a variety of communication channels and a complaint can be made through any of these means and will be dealt with confidentially and without bias:-
In writing: Cornwall Rural Housing Association Limited - 19 Callywith Gate, Launceston Road, Bodmin, Cornwall PL31 2RQ
By telephone: 01208 892000
By email: info@crha.org.uk
Website: www.crha.org.uk
Tenant Portal: My CRHA - https://crha.org.uk
Twitter: @CornwallRuralHA
Facebook/Facebook Messenger: Cornwall Rural Housing Association
Stage One – Initial Complaint
A stage one complaint will be investigated and dealt with by one of our heads of service, who will endeavour to resolve the complaint in 10 calendar days and a full written response will be provided.
Stage Two – Formal Complaint
If you are unhappy with the action taken under stage one it will be escalated to stage two of our complaints procedure and will be dealt with by our Chief Executive who will endeavour to resolve the complaint in 20 calendar days. The Chief Executive will set up a panel meeting with 2 board members for a final decision and a full written response will be provided.
Complaint Information
If a complainant raises any additional complaints during the investigation, these will be incorporated into the stage one response if they are relevant, and the stage one response has not been issued. Where the additional complaints are not relevant, or the stage one response has been issued, or it would unreasonably delay the response, the complaint will be logged as a new complaint.
If CRHA is unable to resolve the complaint in the above timeframes, we will outline, in writing, what we are intending to do to resolve the complaint, and by when. If the timeframes set out are not adhered to, the customer is then able to escalate the complaint.
In responding to the complainant, the person dealing with the matter will provide a clear explanation on how the complaint can be escalated it the customer remains dissatisfied and will set out the timeframe for this.
A complaint will be considered closed when CRHA has written to the complainant outlining what they have done or propose to do to resolve the complaint. CRHA will give the customer a further opportunity at this stage to provide feedback, or to escalate the complaint accordingly.
Housing Ombudsman Service
If a customer remains dissatisfied with the response at stage two of the procedure, the complainant is able to refer their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman within 8 weeks of the final decision.
The Housing Ombudsman can be contacted at:
Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ
Telephone: 0300 111 3000
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk
