Complaints bubblesMaking a Complaint

We are committed to providing high quality customer service. We value feedback and use it to help improve our services. If something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied with our services, please tell us.

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or by someone acting on our behalf. See more below or download our complaints booklet.

What can I complain about?

You can complain about things like:

  • Delays in responding to your enquiries and requests
  • Failure to provide a service
  • Inadequate standard of service, such as a repair not carried out properly
  • Dissatisfaction with a policy or a decision, but only if there is no other way of dealing with the matter such as a formal appeal process
  • Provision of misleading, unsuitable or incorrect advice or information
  • Unacceptable behaviour by, or attitude of, a member of staff, Board Member or contractor’s staff
  • Unfairness, bias or prejudice in service delivery
  • Our failure to follow proper procedure

Your complaint may involve more than one of our services or be about someone working on our behalf, for example, a repairs contractor.

What can't I complain about?

There are some things that we can’t deal with through our complaints procedure.

These include:

  • A routine first time request for a service, for example, reporting a repair
  • Reporting anti-social behaviour – this is dealt with by a separate procedure
  • Requests for compensation
  • Where there is a separate right of appeal, for example, you can appeal if you are dissatisfied with the level of priority you have been given when applying for a house or if a request for an alteration has not been approved
  • Matters that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal
  • An attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint, or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision at Stage 2

Who can complain?

Anyone can make a complaint to us, including the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service.

Who can help me make my complaint?

How do I complain?

You can do so in person at our office, by phone, in writing by letter or email.

It is easier for us to resolve complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the department concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff working in the service you are complaining about. They can try to resolve any problems on the spot.

You need to tell us

  • Your full name and address
  • As much as you can about the complaint
  • What has gone wrong
  • How you want us to resolve the matter
How long do I have to make a complaint?

Normally, you must make your complaint within six months of:

  • The event you want to complain about, or
  • finding out that you have a reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event itself.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

What happens when I make a complaint?

Our complaints procedure has two stages:

STAGE 1: FRONTLINE RESOLUTION

We aim to resolve complaints quickly and close to where we provided the service. This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action to resolve the problem. We will give you our decision at Stage 1 in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If we can’t resolve your complaint at this stage, we will explain why and will agree with you a realistic timeframe in which we will resolve your complaint. If you are still dissatisfied with our decision at stage one, you can ask for your complaint to be investigated further through Stage 2. You may choose to do this immediately or some time after you get our initial response. We can help you with making this request.

STAGE 2: INVESTIGATION

Stage 2 deals with two types of complaint. Those that have not been resolved at Stage 1, and those that are complex and require detailed investigation.

In the Stage 2 process we will:

  • Acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 3 working days
  • Undertake a detailed investigation
  • Give you a full written response to the complaint as soon as possible and within 20 working days

If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days we will tell you. We will agree revised time limits with you and keep you updated on progress.

What if I am still dissatisfied?

After we have fully investigated and replied, if you are still unhappy with our decision or the way we have dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look into it.

SPSO logo

The SPSO cannot normally look at:

  • A complaint that has not been through our complaints procedure - please make sure you have followed our complaints procedure before contacting the SPSO
  • Events that happened more than a year ago, or that you became aware of after a year
  • A matter that has been or is being considered in court

Get in touch with the SPSO here

How can I complain about factoring services?

The SPSO does not normally look at complaints about our factoring service. If your complaint is about our factoring service, and you are still dissatisfied after our Stage 2 investigation, you will be able to go to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).

How can I report a Significant Performance Failure?

The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) can consider issues raised with them about ‘significant performance failures’. A significant performance failure is defined by the SHR as something that a landlord does or fails to do that puts the interests of its tenants at risk, and which the landlord has not resolved. This is a serious problem that does, or could, affect all tenants. If you are affected by a problem like this, you should first report it to us.

If you have told us about it but we have not resolved it, you can report it directly to the SHR.

A complaint between an individual tenant and a landlord is not a significant performance failure. Significant performance failures are not, therefore, dealt with through this complaints handling procedure.

You can ask us for more information about significant performance failures. The SHR also has more information on their website and you can download a significant performance failure factsheet here.

Getting help to make your complaint

We understand that you may be unable, or reluctant, to make a complaint yourself. We will therefore accept complaints from a friend, relative or an advocate (somebody you ask to act on your behalf), if you have given them your permission to complain for you.

You can find out about advocates in your area by contacting the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance or Citizens Advice Bureau.

We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equalities duties, we will always ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help customers access and use our services.

If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing please contact us.