At Depaul UK we want to ensure that all our customers have a fair, consistent and accessible way of making complaints.
We have a two stage complaints process based upon the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
We recognise and value all feedback and believe that it can help us to improve what we do.
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents, members of the public or any customer of Depaul UK.
We will accept complaints from current or ex-customers of Depaul UK, this includes:
You can make a complaint to us:
Please note if your complaint is regarding anti-social behaviour we have dedicated procedures to deal with this. Please contact us for more information or to make a report.
If you need help to make a complaint a member of staff will be able to assist you.
Informal resolution and service requests
Before starting the process of making a formal complaint, please take the time to discuss your concerns with any member of staff.
We handle informal complaints as a service request, this is a request requiring action to be taken to put something right.
At this point we will look into the matters that you raise and try to resolve them before starting the formal process. We want the opportunity to put things right for you as soon as possible.
Stage one
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 3 working days and provide the contact details of the investigating officer and the case reference number.
We may need to contact you to confirm details of your complaint and to find out what resolution you are seeking.
We will provide a full response to you within 10 working days.
We recognise that complaints can be resolved in several different ways. When responding to complaints we will offer a solution that takes into consideration any service failure and the overall circumstances of the complaint.
Stage two
If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint at stage 1 you must let us know within 20 working days.
You will need to tell us why you are dissatisfied and what you consider has not been resolved.
We will ask you to tell us what they expect from the resolution.
Our Stage 2 process is an internal review. The review will check that the decisions at Stage 1 were fair, reasonable and in accordance with our policies.
Stage 2 complaints will be assigned to a senior manager, who will check our procedures have been followed and review the outcome you received at stage 1.
We will provide a full response to you within 20 working days.
If at any time during the complaint process you are not satisfied or wish to access impartial advice you may be able to contact a Regulator or external body.
Housing complaints may be referred for support from their local MP or Councillor, who may contact us about their complaint or refer them to the Housing Ombudsman.
Depaul Housing Services customers may be able to contact the Housing Ombudsman directly. The contact details for the Housing Ombudsman Service are:
Online complaint form: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/residents/make-a-complaint/
Phone: 0300 111 3000
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Postal address: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ
Support complaints may be referred to the Local Authority or funding partner for the relevant service.
Donor or supporter complaints may be referred to the Fundraising Regulator https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/complaints
Personal data use complaints may be referred to the Information Commissioner’s Office https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
General consumer advice is available from Citizens Advice
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us
If you need help or details of how to contact any of the above organisations or authorities, please speak to any member of staff from Depaul UK or mail depaul@depaulcharity.org.uk
Depaul UK completed the Housing Ombudsman Self-Assessment annually to review our compliance with the new Compliant Handling Code.
Our completion of this self-assessment is based upon annual complaints data from complaints received by us.
For the latest version please see below.
A comment is a suggestion, idea or observation about our services. Any customer can make a comment about our services, how they access our services, the staff that deliver them and so on.
Comments help us to be innovative and creative about the way in which we deliver our services to customers.
A compliment is positive feedback from a customer regarding an area of our service, or service delivery. A compliment may also be about the person who provided the service, or more generally about the service we have provided.
Compliments let us know we are getting it right.
Read our complaints, comments and compliments policy