Learning and improving through complaints
We want you to be happy with our services and we value your feedback when things go well and when we fall short.
In 2023/24, we increased the number of staff dealing with complaints, and in April 2024 resolved 97% of new complaints on time.
We closely examine the reasons behind complaints and use these as a learning opportunity to improve our services and prevent similar issues in the future.
The top five reasons for customer complaints are:
1
Timescales
2
Communications
3
Service Failures
4
Service Quality
5
Staff Behaviour
Most of the customer feedback received related to the communication of repairs timescales, appointments, and inspections. We’ve made changes to give clearer and proactive information to customers waiting for appointments.
As a result of customer feedback, we’ve made some changes to improve services and reduce complaints in the following areas:
- Damp and condensation We’ve revised our processes to improve our response times, inspections and follow up work to prevent damp occurring.
- Repairs We’ve dedicated some of our repairs staff to respond directly to complaints, improving our communication with you on outstanding repair work.
- A new repairs policy We’ve put a new repairs policy in place. This is explained in more detail in the repairing, maintaining, and improving homes section in this report.
- Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) Due to a rise in cases and complaints about ASB, we’ve completed a full review of our ASB service and introduced a new Neighbourhood Policy.
Over the next 12 months, we’re planning to:
- Work closely with service areas across the organisation and external partners to act swiftly on your feedback.
- Learn from things that went wrong to improve our customer service.
- Make it easier for you to access our services via social media.
- Work on introducing a customer portal that will allow you to book repair appointments and pay your rent.
You can read more information in our Annual Complaints Service Improvement Report 2024 at: www.boltonathome.org.uk/customer-feedback.
For complaints, compliments, and suggestions:
Phone: 01204 328000.
Email: customer.care@boltonathome.org.uk
Private message us on Facebook.
Write to: Bolton at Home, 98 Waters Meeting Road, Bolton, BL1 8SW.
Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman Service investigates complaints and resolves disputes involving tenants and social housing landlords. This service is free, independent, and impartial for tenants. They also provide lots of useful information on the learning from their casework and the determinations reached on their website.
When you report a complaint to us, we must follow the rules set out in the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
Every year, we complete a self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and publish this on our website. You can find our 2024 self-assessment at www.boltonathome.org.uk/customer-feedback.
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your complaint, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service for advice and ask them to investigate your case.
You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service at:
Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 111 3000
Address: Housing Ombudsman Service PO Box 152 Liverpool L33 7WQ