How to make a complaint or compliment


 

You can make a complaint or compliment about Your Homes Newcastle by completing a complaints and compliments form online

Click here to read our Complaints and Compliments leaflet

Our promise to you

We are committed to putting you first and providing a quality customer service.  This includes how we deal with any complaint or compliment you may have.

  • We will deal with your complaint or compliment quickly and fairly
  • We will tell you what is happening with your complaint and we will do everything we can to help you
  • We will do our best to treat the information you give us in confidence
  • We will explain our decision
  • We will use complaints and compliments to review and improve the way we provide services
  • If you make a complaint it will not affect your right to receive or use a YHN service in the future.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is when you tell us you are not happy.  For example if:

  • We do not deliver a service on time
  • We give you the wrong information
  • You receive a poor quality of service
  • You are not happy with a member of staff in some way

Our complaints process is for the services we operate and manage within YHN. 

Newcastle City Council has their own complaints process for the services they provide.  For example:

  • Refuse collection
  • Street parking
  • Pest control

If you are experiencing anti-social behaviour, please contact YHN’s Housing Anti-Social Behaviour Enforcement Team.

If you write to us anonymously with a complaint we will be unable to reply to you.  We will however, send your complaint to your local housing office for investigation.

What is a compliment?

A compliment is when you tell us you are happy.  For example if:

  • We deliver a service on time
  • We give you the correct information
  • You receive a good or excellent quality of service
  • You want to praise or highlight the service given to you by a member of staff

How do I make a complaint?

Please tell us about your complaint as soon as you can.  This makes it easier for us to investigate your complaint for you.  You can tell us in person, by phone, by letter, by completing our Complaints and Compliments leaflet  or by using our online Complaints and Compliments form.

Please contact us at:

Customer Service Team,
YHN House,
Benton Park Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7LX

Phone: 0191 278 8600  
Email: yhnccc@yhn.org.uk

Please ask a member of staff if you need help to write your complaint or to fill in the form.  If you prefer, a friend or relative can fill in the form for you.

If you prefer, you can ask a friend or relative to speak, or write to us for you.

When you contact us, please make sure you:

  • Give your name, address and phone number
  • Tell the person you speak to what your complaint is/

If your complaint is about a member of staff, you should inform their manager, not other members of staff.

How will we deal with your complaints?

By law, we may need to deal with some complaints in a different way.  In these cases, we will tell you why and give you more information.

Step one

  • We will try to deal with your complaint informally.
  • This means that you should phone or take your complaint to the office or person who dealt with your enquiry.
  • Our staff will do their best to settle your complaint without you needing to do anything else.
  • We will record your complaint to help us improve our services to you.

If you have spoken to the relevant officer about your complaint but they have not been able to put things right, or you are not happy with the result, the next step is for you to make a step two complaint.

Step two

At this stage you should put your complaint in writing.  You can do this by:

  • We will contact you within three working days, or for complaints received by email, within one working day to let you know we have received your complaint.
  • We will give you a reference number and the date you can expect to receive a full written response to your complaint.  If you do not receive a reference number within three working days, please contact us on 0191 278 8600.
  • We will tell you the name of the manager who will investigate your complaint as this will make it easier for you to contact the person dealing with your complaint if you need to.

The manager will:

  • Contact you to fully understand your complaint
  • Investigate your complaint
  • Take any necessary action
  • Apologise for any inconvenience or stress caused
  • Make sure you receive a full written response within 10 working days

If your complaint needs more investigation and we cannot send you a written response within 10 working days, we will write to you and let you know when you will receive a written response.

Where your complaint is justified and you have suffered stress, inconvenience or suffered a loss, you may be entitled to some compensation.

Please refer to our compensation and claims leaflet available from housing offices, customer service centres or by phoning 0191 278 8600.

Step three

If you have been through steps one and two and are still not happy with the results of our investigations, you can make a complaint to Newcastle City Council. 

Newcastle City Council will investigate your complaint independently and will write to you within three working days to let you know:

  • They are reviewing your complaint
  • Approximately how long it will take to investigate
  • When you will receive a written response

If you would like Newcastle City Council to investigate your complaint further, please contact:

Complaints Officer,
Democratic Services,
Civic Centre,
Barras Bridge,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE99 2BN

Phone: 0191 211 5116 or 0191 211 5180
Email: complaints@newcastle.gov.uk

 

Ombudsman

YHN and Newcastle City Council will also be able to help you if you would like the Local Government Ombudsman to review your complaint.

You must allow YHN to investigate your complaint fully at step two and step three, before you can refer it to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771,
Coventry,
CV4 0EH

Phone: 0300 061 0614
Fax: 024 7682 0001 or text ‘call back’ to: 0762 480 4323
Email: advice@lgo.org.uk 
Website: www.lgo.org.uk

Leaseholders

If you have a specific complaint about your service charges you can appeal to:

Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT)
Residential Property Tribunal Service,
1st Floor,
5 New York Street,
Manchester,
M1 4JB

Phone: 0845 100 2614 or 0161 237 9491
Fax: 0161 237 3656
Email: northern.rpa@communities.gsi.gov.uk

For any other complaint, please follow the steps above.

How do I make a compliment?

You can make a compliment in person, by phone, by letter, by completing our Complaints and Compliments leaflet  or by using our online Complaints and Compliments form.

How we will deal with your compliments

When you make a compliment we will write to you within 10 working days to tell you how we will use this to improve our services.

 

How we will use your complaints and compliments

We will use your complaints and compliments to review and improve the way we provide services to you.  Our complaints champions review all complaints and compliments monthly to make improvements to our services.