Make a complaint or leave feedback

We are committed to providing the best service possible. We welcome compliments, comments and complaints about our services so that we can continually improve what we do and how we do it.

Why should I get in touch?

  • Compliments: You may want to compliment someone who has helped you or let us know if we have done something particularly well so that we can keep doing it
  • Comments: You may want to comment and make suggestions about the quality of our existing services or recommend additional services
  • Complaints: You may want to make an expression of dissatisfaction, 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.

How should I get in touch?

  • In person - you can speak to any of our staff
  • Telephone - 0800 5870211
  • Letter - Feedback Team, JRHT, The Garth, White Rose Avenue, New Earswick, York, YO32 4TZ
  • Email - feedback@jrht.org.uk

Comments and compliments

It is important for us to gather as much feedback as possible about our services. Comments and compliments can be as helpful as complaints to show us where services are working well and where we need to make changes to further improve.

How do we learn from the feedback received?

When we receive feedback, whether it's a compliment, comment or complaint, we will always try to use the feedback to improve how we do things in the future. Our lessons learned process helps us to do this. Our lessons learned process helps us to do this.

Our lessons learned process identifies key learning actions from every compliment, comment or complaint we receive. All our operational sites then refer to the lessons learned to inform service improvement across the organisation.

Complaints

Who can make a complaint?

  • The person who receives the service (the service user)
  • Someone acting on behalf of the service user with their consent
  • If a service user does not have the capacity to make their own decisions, a friend or relative may make a complaint on their behalf.

What can I complain about?

A complaint is 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" (Housing Ombudsman, 2020).

Below is a list of the types of things you may wish to complain about:

  • If you receive a poor-quality service – including services we have arranged but are delivered by an independent provider
  • The attitude or behaviour of a member of staff
  • If we have failed to follow our policies or procedures
  • If we have failed to follow Care Quality Commission regulations or other legal obligations
  • Your experience of our care delivery
  • If you have not been kept informed about the progress of a repair to your home.

Can I get help to make a complaint?

You can ask a friend or relative, a local Councillor or an MP to speak to us on your behalf. If you prefer, we can also put you in contact with an independent organisation or a voluntary agency. If you want to complain in person but have a disability that prevents you from doing so, we can arrange a visit to gather the details of your complaint, or can telephone you to talk about the best way we can help you make your complaint.

What can I expect when I make a complaint?

We will do our best to resolve the issue as soon as possible. If this is not possible, we will:

  • Discuss with you exactly what it is you are unhappy about and what you would like to see happen because of your complaint
  • Explain how we will investigate your complaint, how long it will take to complete and any actions that we will be taking as a result of your complaint.

Complaints process

When you make a complaint, we will make every effort to resolve the matter straight away. But if this is not possible, we will proceed with our formal complaints process. We have a two-stage complaints process.

Stage One: Initial complaint investigation and response

  • We will handle your complaint fairly, impartially, professionally and objectively
  • We will investigate the issue thoroughly
  • We will keep you informed of the progress using your preferred method of communication
  • We will investigate and respond to your complaint within 10 working days. If the complaint is more complicated, we may need more time to respond but we will keep you updated on how things are progressing and will respond within a reasonable timescale.

Stage Two: Review of initial investigation

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint you may want to appeal. You can appeal within 10 working days of receiving your first response.

In this instance, we will:

  • ​Ask you to clarify what remains unsolved
  • Ask you for additional information
  • Ask you what action you think we should take
  • Make sure a senior member of staff reviews and investigates the complaint
  • Provide a full explanation within 15 working days.

This is the final stage of our complaints process but if you are still not satisfied with the response to your complaint, you can contact an external organisation, such as the Housing Ombudsman, Care Quality Commission or Charity Commission, to conduct further investigations.

Care complaints

We have learnt that complaints relating to care services are often more complex.

Investigating a care complaint can also be more difficult, due to the need to speak to staff who work shifts and / or relatives who may not live locally.

As a result the target response rate for Stage One and Stage Two complaints has been extended to
28 days.

Putting things right

There are several ways we can put things right if we have got something wrong.

We can:

  • Say sorry
  • Provide an explanation or more information
  • Take any necessary action to remedy the situation
  • Use lessons learned to improve our services
  • Arrange training or guidance for staff.

Where can I find more information if I would like to take my complaint further?

Contact details

Housing service complaints

Care service complaints

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is an independent service with works to resolve individual complaints about adult social care providers.

Rent levels, service charge or leasehold valuations complaints

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) handles disputes over property and land, including things like rent increases.

Care Quality Commission

Our service is registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC cannot get involved in individual complaints about providers, but can receive information about our care services.

Charity Commission

The Charity Commission is the charity regulator in England and Wales.

Our contact information

Alternatively, you can speak to us in person at any of our sites.

Annual complaints performance and service improvement report

We carry out an annual self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code.

This self-assessment is reported to the Board and an annual complaints performance and service improvement report is published on this website.