Feedback from our customers is very important. It helps us to put right anything that we have done wrong, and helps us learn how we can improve. We welcome all feedback but we particularly want to hear about:
- team members or services that have worked well
- how you think we could improve
- where things didn't go as well as you expected
- any complaints you have (see below for more information on this).
You can give us feedback or make a complaint by phone, email, letter, webchat, social media channels or through our customer portal My Account.
How we deal with complaints
We take complaints very seriously and have a formal, two-stage process to investigate and hopefully resolve all complaints we receive.
Every complaint is handled by our complaints officer who will investigate the complaint and offer a resolution (stage 1). If, after this stage, a customer gives us evidence that we haven't resolved things successfully, one of the customer services management team will review the complaint (stage 2).
If you have been through this two-stage process and feel that we have not handled the situation properly, you can then refer the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. You can also get advice about complaints from the Ombudsman at any time at www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/
You can view our self-assessment for the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code by clicking here.
You can view our full complaints policy by clicking here.
Reporting on complaints
For the financial year April 2020 – March 2021 we received:
- 93 complaints that were resolved at stage 1
- 1 complaint that was resolved at stage 2
- 1 complaint that was referred to the Ombudsman
Learning from complaints and feedback
Here are some of the changes we have made in response to customer complaints and feedback over the last year.
Repairs
- We are investing in new technology to make the end-to-end repairs process for our customers easier. You will start to see changes to the way you book your repairs and the messages keeping you up-to-date with the progress of your repair from Spring 2021.
- We have introduced a quick and simple way for the complaints officer to offer gestures of goodwill, where we have not met the standards expected.
Communication
- We have made changes to our self service portal My Account to make it easier than ever to report and book a repair, wherever you live. We will continue to improve this service to make it even more effortless to raise issues with us.
- We have introduced a new online forum, called My Voice, for customers who want to share their views and opinions, give feedback and discuss new projects to help shape Futures. You can join MyVoice (and existing members can log-in) by clicking here.
- We are investing in team training to ensure that our customers receive a positive customer experience when contacting us.
- We are working with Derbyshire District Citizens Advice on the 'Power up' scheme. We can refer you directly to experts who can complete a full energy MOT, provide advice and help with changing providers and tariffs, give pointers on things you can do to make your home more energy efficient and find out if there are other funding sources elsewhere that may be able to help.
- We are working with Switchee. They provide devices that connect to heating systems which can generate information on the energy performance of the property, detect damp and mould, and predict fuel poverty.
