Making a complaint, comment or compliment

We always try to give the best service, but we know that we don't always get things right. 

We want to sort problems as soon as possible, so if you think you've not been given the kind of service you expect, let us know. If you've already tried to raise the issue with the person you're dealing with, then you have a right to raise a complaint.

For more information about how we handle complaints, you can read our Complaints policy here:

Complaints policy

How to raise a complaint

You can raise a complaint by calling us on 03000 120 120 and speaking to a member of our contact centre.

If you're an Alliance Homes customer, you can raise and monitor your complaint through Connect, our customer portal.

You can also report complaints through the following channels:

  • Email: Contact us at act@alliacehomes.org.uk
  • Online webform: Raise a complaint by completing our 'contact us' online form.
  • Live chat via our website: Available from 8.30 am - 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday
  • Social media: Direct messaging us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram.
  • Post: Alliance Homes, 40 Martingale Way, Portishead, BS20 7AW
  • HIVE: Our online community, find out more here.
  • In person: by visiting our reception at our head office in Portishead.

We handle all our complaints in accordance with the Housing Ombudsman, you can read more about this at the bottom of the page. 

How we manage complaints

You can find full details of our procedure in our Complaints Handling Process.

We will acknowledge all complaints within five working days in a method of communication that has been agreed with you.

We have a two stage complaints procedure to manage matters where customers are dissatisfied with their outcome.

Stage 1

Within five working days of your complaint being raised, a Customer Complaints Advisor will contact you to discuss your concerns and explore the outcome and resolution you are looking for. This will then be followed up by an acknowledgement letter or email.

We aim to investigate your complaint within 10 working days, in this time the Customer Complaints Advisor will work with the relevant Service Area Manager to resolve your complaint quickly and fairly.

There may be times when we are not available to resolve your complaint within the timescales, if this is the case we will speak to explain the reasons why and look to extend for a further 10 working days.

Upon completion of the investigation into the points raised, we will confirm our response to you which will include all actions taken to resolve the complaint. If there are any subsequent actions to be taken we will give you clear timescales of when these will be completed and close your complaint at this point.

What if I’m unhappy with your response?

If you disagree with the decision please contact us within ten working days of receiving your stage 1 closure letter to ask for your complaint to be considered at stage 2.

Stage 2

This stage is coordinated by our Feedback Manager. A full investigation will be undertaken and a complete review of the previous response and subsequent actions of stage 1. We will agree method and frequency of contact with you, so that we keep you updated in a way that is easy for you.

We aim to respond within 20 working days, but again, where there is added complexity, we will agree a suitable extension of the timescale with you directly. Any extension would not normally be more than a further 20 working days.

In order to provide a quality check of the complaint and the proposed solution, the matter will be reviewed at a case conference, which is a group of managers and senior managers who look at all complaints to ensure they have been fairly and consistently handled.

This is the final stage of our internal complaints process and an outcome of the complaint process will be shared with you.

If you remain unhappy with our response

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your stage 2 complaint you can choose to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service.

The Housing Ombudsman Service is set up by law to look at complaints about housing organisations that are registered with them. This service is free, independent, and impartial.

The Housing Ombudsman Service can be contacted as follows:

Housing Ombudsman complaints handling code – Our self-assessment

The Alliance Homes complaint process is aligned to the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code which has key areas to help benchmark aspects of complaints. The code helps to set out good practice and allow landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly.

Landlords were asked to self-assess their complaints procedure and publish the results to show they meet the criteria of the code.

We’ve completed our self-assessment, which you can see here.

You can read more on the Housing Ombudsman complaints handing code here.

We have used our findings of our self-assessment to make changes to our policy and processes which will focus on making things easy and resolving your complaints quickly.

We will provide regular updates on the website about complaints including quarterly information on how we’re performing and how we’re using your feedback to improve services.

Feedback

Once your complaint has been closed, you will receive a questionnaire on how we have handled your complaint. We really welcome and appreciate your feedback, both positive and negative, this helps us shape the Feedback Team and how we handle complaints.

Comments 

There may be times you wish to provide us with feedback about our services or suggestions on how we can improve, this can be raised as comment which will be reviewed by the Service Manager and Feedback Team.

Compliments

We love receiving positive feedback about the service colleagues provide to our customers, especially when they have gone above and beyond. All compliments are feedback to the member of staff or team and their line manager.

Useful documents