Comments, Complaints and Compensation

We have a new Complaints and Compensation Policy 

With it comes our promise to treat your complaints fairly and professionally, respond and act in a timely way and learn from our mistakes.

Everyone at Accent is responsible for providing an excellent customer experience. Having satisfied customers is, after all, one way we can know we have a successful business.    

But, even with the best intentions, things can go wrong. If they do, we want to reassure you that we are listening to what you say, acting on what you say and getting your problems sorted, quickly, efficiently and professionally.  

Find out more about our new policy

Our Comments, Complaints and Compensation Process

You can complain about: 

• Missed appointments by our staff or contractors.
• If we have not met our repairs service standards or done what we have promised.
• If we have not dealt with customers’ concerns in line with our policies and procedures.
• If we have not delivered a paid for service charge or provided the correct charging information.

We want to make it easy for you to tell us you’re not happy, so there are lots of ways you can complain:

• Using our online form.  
• By ringing us on 0345 678 0555.
• Through a member of Accent staff.

What’s Not a Complaint

We do not class service requests as complaints. For example, if the problem is a broken fence, it’s not a complaint. But, it is a complaint if we have promised to fix the fence and haven’t. 

We also do not class reports of anti-social behaviour as a complaint. We will deal with all reports of anti-social behaviour under our anti-social behaviour and hate crime policy. However you can choose to complain if you feel we have not dealt with your report of anti-social behaviour in line with our policy.   

Housing Ombudsman

In July 2020, the Housing Ombudsman Service published a new Complaints Handling Code. The code provides guidance for landlords to follow which supports the proper handling and prevention of complaints, alongside learning from complaints to improve the service. The ombudsman asked us to assess how we complied with the code, which we did, and we are happy to say we comply with it in most areas. However, there are some areas we need to improve on. Find out how we comply and where we need to improve here. 

See how we measure up against the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code in our self assessment for 2022 here. You can also view our self assessment for 2021 here.

Just so you know, the Housing Ombudsman will only consider complaints if they have been through our process. 

Address: Housing Ombudsman Service, P O Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ.

Phone: 0300 111 3000

Calls to and from 0300 111 3000 and direct dial lines of the dispute resolution team are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

The ombudsman strongly encourages customers to use email or the online complaint form rather than sending post to the PO box address in Liverpool. The ombudsman team work remotely, so their ability to receive and send post is very limited. Please do not send original documents by post as the ombudsman will not be able to post them back to you. 

You can find information about other organisations which may be able to assist you here - https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/residents/helpful-links/

Housing Ombudsman online complaint advice

There are alternative routes which may be more appropriate for homeowners (freeholders and Domus customers) to follow for an external review of their complaint, this will vary depending on the tenure.

DOMUS customers should approach the Property Ombudsman. The Property Ombudsman is available at: https://www.tpos.co.uk/consumers/how-to-make-a-complaint. 

The Property Ombudsman will only consider complaints if they have been through our internal complaints process and a final response has been received, or if it’s been more than 8 weeks since you first made your complaint.

Milford House
43-55 Milford St
Salisbury
SP1 2BP
Telephone: 01722 333306

Email: admin@tpos.co.uk

Freeholders do not have the right to approach the Housing Ombudsman Service, or the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), but may have the option to approach the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for a determination on their service charges (subject of the terms of their transfer). Further information can be found here: Reporting Concerns (rics.org)

Leaseholders and Shared owners may find further guidance here:

Leasehold Advisory Service: Advice - The Leasehold Advisory Service (lease-advice.org)

First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber): First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)