Compliments, Complaints and Feedback
If your complaint relates to an ongoing and urgent health and safety issue, safeguarding or a repair, please call us on 0330 460 9870, or if you have one report this to your Alpha Development Manager.
We welcome all types of feedback and want to hear from you with any compliments, suggestions or feedback about our services and colleagues.
We'd like to think that we get things right most of the time, but we know that occasionally things may go wrong.
Compliments
We are always delighted to hear from residents who recognise our colleagues for delivering an excellent service.
Compliments let us know where and how we are succeeding in providing good service and provide good examples of good practice that we are committed to sharing with our residents and colleagues.
We like to give praise where it is due, so if you would like to thank a colleague, please get in touch and we will be sure to pass on your appreciation.
Below are some quotes we have received from residents about our services:
"Just a quick note to say a big thank you in acting very promptly to my 2 queries. Steve was so very polite and courteous and remedied the two problems extremely fast" Linda, Hesslewell Court
"She makes sure everyone feels comfortable and that everything works smoothly..." Tetiania, Edel Quinn House
Complaints
Alpha's definition of a complaint aligns with that of the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code which is: "an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the landlord, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting a resident or a group of residents".
At Alpha, we have a 2-stage complaint process. You can find more information in our complaints policy below.
If we fail to meet your expectations, please tell us as soon as you can and within 12 months of the issue happening, or of you becoming aware of the issue.
Please provide us with as much information as possible, including:
- What the issue is
- What happened, or did not happen
- When it happened
- How you would like us to put things right
- Any supporting information, including any photos.
At Stage 1, we will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and aim to respond to your complaint within 10 working days after our initial acknowledgment. Sometimes we will need more time to investigate your complaint thoroughly, and we will let you know if this is the case and will keep you updated throughout.
If you are not happy with our complaint response you can us to review it and escalate it to Stage 2. We aim to respond to Stage 2 complaints within 20 working days.
Although the Housing Ombudsman will normally expect our internal complaints process to be completed before looking into a case, you can contact them at any time using the contact details in this link.
How to make a complaint, or give a compliment or feedback
A complaint does not need to be made in writing, and you can speak to an Alpha colleague about a concern. If you would prefer to speak to someone other than your Alpha Development Manager, or if you do not have one, there are several ways you can get in touch with us.
You can:
- Call us on 0330 460 9870
- Email us at customerexperience@alpha-living.co.uk
- Write to Case Manager/Complaints, Poppyfields, Management Office, Woodpecker Close, Upton, CH49 4AA
- Use the contact form on our Contact Us page.
Feedback received will be used to shape our services and we will look to either implement these as soon as reasonably practicable, or when we review our policies.
Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code
We carry out an annual self-assessment to check that we meet the requirements of the Complaints' Handling Code. A copy of our latest assessment can be found below, along with our annual complaints and service improvement report. The report is approved by our Board who make a statement in response to the report, which can be found below.
