1. COMPLAINTS POLICY JULY 2009

2. COMPLAINTS POLICY Why do we have this Policy? We are committed to delivering high quality services to all of our customers. We welcome the opportunity to make service improvements that arise from customer experiences of both a positive and negative nature. We recognise that there will be occasions when our service may fall short of the standards set. In this event, we will welcome and treat seriously, any complaints that are made to us about the quality of service provided or how it has been delivered. We also appreciate compliments from our customers, as these help us to continue to improve by learning from our success. This policy is integral to our vision and business ethos, and our commitment to continuous improvement and learning. What happens when things go wrong? We will treat all customer complaints in a professional and objective manner. We will ensure that staff follow the principles of our Equality and Diversity Policy in the investigation of all complaints. On receipt of the complaint, we will ask whether you need any specific support to take forward your complaint. You can make a complaint to Sentinel in whichever method you choose. This could be: In person, Via letter, Email, Telephone, or Fax. On receipt of your complaint we will contact you by telephone within two working days, or in your chosen written method within three working days to confirm our understanding of the nature of the complaint. We will use a three stage process when investigating complaints: 1. A frontline member of staff will try to resolve the issue within 5 working days. If a resolution is not achieved, the matter will be referred to our Customer Services Manager. 2. The Customer Services Manager, along with the related Service Team Manager, will investigate the matter further and seek to resolve the complaint for you within 10 working days. 3. If the complaint remains unresolved to the satisfaction of the customer, the customer can request that the issue is referred to a hearing by Sentinel’s Complaints Panel. The panel comprises of three Board Members; a hearing will be arranged within 20 working days. We aim, where possible, to resolve all complaints within 20 working days. If a complaint is still unresolved after the Complaint Panel hearing, the customer can refer the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service. What to do if you are not happy with our decision? Where it has been found that the service did not meet our set standards, we will: 1. Apologise, 2. Seek to remedy the issue and award compensation where appropriate, 3. Learn from the experience What will happen where a complaint is difficult or unfounded? Where there is little or no evidence to support a complaint, or where we decide the complaint is unreasonable or vexatious, we reserve the right not to progress our investigation past stage one. Perceived service failures will only be investigated up to 12 months of the incident occurring. Approval Stages Named Departmental Sign off: Val Bagnall 24 th July 2009 Named Director Sign off: Implementation Date: