How to complain

Origin Group and its members SPH Housing and Griffin Homes are committed to providing you with high standards of service. Our aim is to be friendly, helpful, efficient and professional in responding to the needs of all our customers.

Your opinions are important and we want to know what you think of us - particularly if we fail to meet the standards you expect.

This explains how you can make a complaint and obtain further help or advice to resolve any complaint or conern you may have about the services we provide. Please note that we will not accept complaints regards matters over six months old.

Who can complain?

Our complaints and appeals procedure is open to everyone who receives or requests a service from SPH Housing and to the people acting on their behalf.

What is a complaint?

• The type of issues we normally treat as complaints are:
• If staff or contractors employed by us are unhelpful or discourteous
• If you feel you have been treated unfairly
• If we fail to provide a service or to maintain reasonable standards of quality service
• If we fail to fulfil our statutory and contractual responsibilities
• If there is an unreasonable delay in responding to your query.

Procedure - how to make a complaint

Informal complaint
Day to day problems and queries should be brought to the attention of you Area Housing Manager, Estate Officer or the person dealing with your query.

In most cases we can resolve problems at this stage. However, if you are still not satisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, or with the outcome, then you can make a formal complaint.

We may refuse to deal with the complaint or deal with it differently from our complaints procedure if it is pursued unreasonably or the circumstances otherwise merit it.

Stage 1
If you wish to make a formal complaint, speak or write to the person who you normally deal with or contact our Customer Service Team for a form or use the attached form. We aim to respond within 10 working days from receiving your complaint. If you need help completing the Complaint Form our Customer Service Advisors can help you, please call 0800 040 7989 (freephone). We will only deal with complaints about things that happened, or came about within the last six months.

Stage 2
If you are not happy with the response, or if we don't do what we say we will do to put things right, you should then write to the relevant Director within a month of receiving the Stage One decision. They will aim to reply to you within 15 working days.

Stage 3 - Appeal
If you are still not satisfied you can appeal to the relevant Board of Origin, SPH Housing or Griffin Homes by writing to the Group Chief Executive, within one month of receiving the Stage Two decision. You will normally receive a hearing within six weeks.

Who do I contact?
If you are not sure who to contact about your complaint, please contact the Customer Services Team at SPH Housing, St Richards House, 110 Eversholt St, London NW1 1BS, or by telephone on 0800 040 7989 (freephone).

Who else may be able to help

If you need independent help with your complaint, or if you belive that you have not been dealt with fairly, then you can contact one of the following:

• Your local councillor
• Your member of Parliament
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Housing aid or Advice Centre
• A solicitor

The housing ombudsman service

Once you have exhausted the association's internal complaints procedure and if you are still unhappy, you can refer your complaint to the ombudsman who can be contacted at:

The housing ombudsman service: 020 7836 3630.

A leaflet outlining how the ombudsman may be able to help you is available from our offices.

Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT)

Leaseholders are able to take service charge issues to the LVT. These tribunals have been given powers to look at servie charge disputes. They are independent and impartial. Hearings are semi-formal and normally consist of three members - a lawyer, a valuer and a layperson.

LVTs can decide on all aspects: the duty to pay service charges for repairs, improvements and services. This includes decisions on whether the costs are reasonable, the standard of work is reasonable, and whether leaseholders have been properly consulted.

These are costs in applying to the LVT and we advise that you obtain independent advice before making an application to the LVT.

Complaint form

Complaints procedure

If you have a complaint please get in touch.

Specific contacts and their details are included on this website, but for general or repairs enquires:

Telephone
Freephone 0800 040 7989, Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm
Repairs freephone 0800 783 7903

Email: Info@origingroup.org.uk

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