Complaints

Complaints

At Snugg Homes (part of the Jigsaw Homes Group) we are committed to providing an excellent service to our customers. However, we realise that things can occasionally go wrong. If this happens to you and you are unhappy about our service delivery, please let us know and we will try to resolve your problem as quickly as possible.

Customer feedback, including complaints, is very important as it helps us to learn and develop as a company, so that we can improve the services we provide to all our customers

What is a complaint?

Complaints are different to everyday enquiries such as reporting repairs, rent and lease enquiries. Everyday enquiries are covered by individual service areas Policies and Procedures. Sometimes customers tell us they are unhappy with something and just want us to put things right. These will usually be smaller issues that can be quickly sorted out. We will always agree with the customer how this will be handled and what the next steps are.

A complaint within this policy is defined as:

‘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 resident or group of residents’.

If you are looking to get in touch with us to request a service, report a repair or find out the status of your repair(s), a rent enquiry or to report anti‐social behaviour then please email our connect customer care team using info@jigsawhomes.org.uk .  This will ensure your enquiry is dealt with faster by the appropriate team.

Who can make a complaint?

A complaint can be raised to Snugg Homes by any person or group of people affected by an activity or service provided by Snugg Homes/Jigsaw Homes Group including:

  • Property applicants
  • Leaseholders
  • MPs and Councillors
  • Advocates of the complainant such as friends, relatives or other representatives (prior written consent from the complainant is required)
  • Residents of Group neighbourhoods/those who have been affected by Group activities and services in the locality
  • Clients/customers for some contracted services (some contracted services are not covered by this policy)

This Policy applies to complaints against external contractors and external service providers acting on our behalf.

Making a complaint

If you are dissatisfied about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by Snugg Homes, our employees, or those acting on our behalf and an initial informal response has not proven satisfactory, then you can raise a complaint with us by:

  • Calling us
  • Visiting us in person
  • Emailing our complaints inbox
  • Writing to us at Chief Executive’s Department.  Cavendish 249, Cavendish Street,
    Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7AT
  • Social media (send us a direct message on Facebook or Twitter)

Help in making a complaint

If you are struggling to make your complaint and require support to raise your complaint please contact us and ask for the Chief Executive’s Department. We will assess customer needs on the specific circumstances of each case in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Complaints time scales

We aim to respond to complaints promptly; our timescales are explained further in this policy under the relevant headings. We will acknowledge your complaint formally within 5 working days, and your complaint will be fully investigated within 10 working days. Sometimes it may not be possible to respond fully to a complaint within these timescales, but we will always keep you informed of any changes and advise you when you can expect a reply.

Complaints process

Our frontline staff are able to help customers who want to make a complaint. If they can’t help a customer themselves, they will help the customer find someone who can.

In most situations, the quickest and most effective way to resolve complaints or dissatisfaction for a customer is for us to work with managers in the relevant department to find an informal solution outside the formal complaints process.

If you remain unhappy with how your complaint has been handled, you can ask for your complaint to be escalated to the formal process under this Policy.

You also have the right to access The Housing Ombudsman Service throughout your complaint. Contact information for The Housing Ombudsman service is provided under heading ‘Designated persons and The Housing Ombudsman’.

The complaints process is a simple two-stage process designed in line with The Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code:

‘Investigation’
We will aim to acknowledge your stage 1 complaint within 5 working days of receiving your complaint. This step is a formal investigation and we will assign an independent investigating officer to work with managers from the relevant team to investigate your complaint for you. The investigating officer will investigate and provide you with a full written response, which will normally be sent within ten working days from the formal acknowledgment of your complaint. If they need more time to investigate your complaint they will always keep you informed, along with the reason why and when you can expect a response.

‘Review’
If after your complaint has been investigated, you are unhappy with how your complaint has been dealt with, you can request a review. You will need to make this request within one month of your stage 1 response being sent to you.

Your request to escalate to the Review step will be handled by a manager from the Chief Executive’s Department who will review the complaint handling and consider the reasons for your escalation request. Your request for Review will be responded to either by a manager from the Chief Executive’s Department or by a member of our Executive Management Team. The reviewing manager(s) will not have previously been involved in the investigation of your complaint.

We aim for the review to take place within 20 working days from accepting your review. If we need more time to review your complaint we will always keep you informed, along with the reason why and when you can expect a response.

Our response at stage 2 is our final response to your complaint and the end of our internal complaints process. If you are still not happy with the response you have received, information about further independent options are detailed below and also available on our websites.

The Housing Ombudsman
If you remain unhappy with the response you have received at the final stage of the complaints process you can ask for your complaint to be considered by The Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman Service is set up by law to look at complaints about the housing organisations that are registered with them. The service is free, independent and impartial.

You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service at:

If you need to make a general complaint you should refer to the Complaints Policy HERE. 

You can refer to our Self Assessment Compliance with the Complaint Handling Code HERE.

If your complaint is specifically in relation to Debt Advice, please refer to our Debt Advice Complaints Policy HERE.

If you are a Legal & General Affordable Homes customer, please click here.

Snugg Homes is committed to providing a fair, consistent and accessible service. We believe that everyone who contacts us has the right to be heard, understood and respected. We believe that our staff have the same rights, and the Group must provide a safe working environment for our staff. Please refer to our Unreasonable Behaviour Policy (against a Snugg Homes/Jigsaw Homes Group representatives) 

Unreasonable Behaviour Policy

If you are unsure which policy to refer to or wish to find out more about making a complaint, please email us on info@jigsawhomes.org.uk or call 0300 11 11 212.

Monitoring and delivery

The Chief Executive’s Department will monitor the delivery of this policy and it will be reviewed annually. We may review this policy sooner if appropriate, for example, if there are changes to legislation or business requirements.

Compensation policy

Our compensation policy applies to all customers of Snugg Homes affected by an activity or service carried out by Snugg Homes/Jigsaw Homes Group and aims to define the circumstances where compensation will be considered by the Group.

We aim to compensate in circumstances where:

  • Customers have suffered financial loss, or suffered significant inconvenience as a result of service failure
  • Complies with statutory and regulatory obligations
  • It is an appropriate and proportionate response to a failure on our part.

To offer redress that is:

  • Fair, when considering the specific circumstances of the case
  • Appropriate and proportionate to the severity of the service failure taking into account the impact of the action or behaviour of the customer as well as the landlord’s actions
  • Flexible, considering different remedy solutions.

Some services we carry out are contracted to or by us to deliver with partnership organisations or contractors. Compensation relating to these services may go through different processes.

Compensation Policy