We provide housing services for thousands of tenants and customers every year. At times we get things wrong and fail to meet the standards we aim to achieve. We welcome feedback, including complaints from those affected by our work
We Aim To:
Resolve complaints raised by our customers quickly
Resolve complaints to the satisfaction of our customers whenever possible
Use the learning from complaints to drive service improvements
We are dedicated to ensuring that our complaint handling process is customer friendly, enabling our residents and members of the wider community to be heard and understood. It is, however important to understand how a complaint is defined according to the Housing Ombudsman.
If You Wish To Raise A Complaint, Please Contact Customer Services By Calling 01524 582929. Alternatively, Please Email Us Via housingcomplaints@lancaster.gov.uk.
“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 or group of individuals.”
Complaints will be accepted unless there is a valid reason for us not to do so. Below are examples of some of the excluded complaints, which will not be investigated:
Day to day service requests or initial reporting of faults.
Criticisms or disagreement with council policies.
Complaints concerning the level of rent or service charge or the amount of the rent or service charge increase.
Complaints against individual employees which arise from dissatisfaction with a council policy or decision, and where no other basis for the complaint exists.
Appeals against any council advice, actions, or decisions in its capacity as a regulator where a statutory right of appeal or other council appeals/review procedure exists.
Complaints can be made online, via email, by telephone, in person or in writing. If you prefer to talk to someone in person, a meeting can be arranged and a friend, relative or other representative can come with you if you wish.
Please click here of you wish to make a complaint online.
When making your complaint please ensure you provide:
Your full name and address and preferred method of contact
A list of relevant points, highlighting any important issues
Details of how you have been affected
The names of any staff who have dealt with the situation
An explanation of what you want to achieve
Copies of any documents supporting your complaint
You can make a complaint anonymously and we will consider your complaint, any investigation will be proportionate to the potential outcome. – this has changed slightly
All information about you or anyone involved in the complaint will be dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
We will try to resolve any issues you have when you first contact us. If you feel your issue has not been resolved, then you may have the right to make a complaint.
We will contact you within five working days of receipt to let you know we have received your complaint, and your complaint will be investigated by a designated senior officer within the service which is the subject of the complaint.
We will aim to give you a full reply to your complaint within 10 working days. If this is going to take longer, we will inform you, and we will keep you up to date on our progress.
If, following the response that you have received, you remain dissatisfied then you may request for your complaint to be escalated to Stage Two of the Council’s complaint’s policy.
Your complaint will be reviewed by an officer independent of the service area concerned, to establish:
Whether the investigation was adequately thorough and impartial.
If any fault was found, whether things have been put right for the complainant.
Please note that Stage Two is not a full re-investigation of the complaint, but it will address any relevant issues if they still need to be addressed in the original complaint response.
Stage Two is also the final stage of the council’s complaints policy. If, following Stage Two, you feel your issue has not been resolved, you have the right to refer your complaint to the relevant Ombudsman.
If you are a Council tenant, leaseholder, or a housing applicant, with a complaint about the council’s housing service, and the issue has still not been resolved following Stage Two you can contact the Housing Ombudsman by visiting the website www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk or by the contact details below:
Housing Ombudsman Service: PO Box 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET
We are committed to transparency and continuous improvement in our complaint handling processes. To see the latest performance information, please visit our Performance Page, where you will find up-to-date data, and insights on how we are addressing and resolving complaints.
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