Complaints Process

Making a complaint

We strive to deliver the highest standards of service, but we understand that there may be times when you feel dissatisfied with our efforts. We value your feedback as it gives us the chance to work with you, understand what went wrong, and make things right.

Your feedback helps us improve our services and enhance your experience. Our complaints process is designed to make it easy for you to voice your concerns, ensuring that we respond consistently, and fairly.

Sometimes, we receive service requests from you, these are requests from you requiring action to be taken to put something right which has not been raised with us previously. Below are a few examples of service requests:

A contractor has not arrived at the agreed time.
Customers calling to report a repair.
Customers calling regarding a missed appointment.

When this happens, we will contact you and advise on which service area or team will be resolving this service request and when you can expect resolution.

As part of our approach, we will always attempt to speak to you over the phone, unless you have requested an alternative method of communication.

If you feel at any point that our service hasn’t met your expectations, please follow the complaints process outlined below to ensure your concerns are addressed.

How to make a complaint

Write to us at: Amber Housing, Unit 9 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green. Essex. IG8 8HD

Download: Our complaints leaflet, which is also available in an Easy Read format.

Email: complaints@amberhousing.co.uk

Call us: 0207 866 2328

Our staff are skilled in handling complaints effectively. They are:

Sensitive and fair in their approach.
Trained to manage complaints and interact with distressed customers.
Able to access staff at all levels for quick resolution.
Empowered to resolve disputes swiftly and fairly.

We have a straightforward two-stage process. If you’re not satisfied with our initial response, you can escalate your complaint to the second and final appeal stage. We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days at the first stage.

Stage One

You’ll be contacted by our Customer Resolution Officer/Manager within two working days of receiving your complaint, confirming the date for a formal response.

We aim to resolve all complaints at this stage. If immediate resolution isn’t possible, we’ll explain why and provide a response date. If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can request an appeal by informing your Customer Resolution Officer/Manager that you’d like to escalate the complaint to the next stage and explain why.

Stage Two

If you’re unhappy with the resolution at stage one, your complaint will be reviewed by a manager or senior team member who was not previously involved. This ensures an impartial review.

We will respond to the stage two complaint within 20 working days. In exceptional cases, we may need more time but will provide a clear timeframe, not exceeding an additional 10 working days without good reason.

Making a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service

If you remain dissatisfied after Stage 2 then you can ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to investigate. The role of the Housing Ombudsman is to resolve complaints when customers feel the outcome is unfair. You can contact the Housing Ombudsman at any given point throughout the life of a complaint. They can be contacted by: