We understand that sometimes, despite our best efforts, we might get things wrong and you might want to submit a complaint.
We want to know when our service falls short of what you expect. This is so we can put things right, make improvements and learn from the experience.
Complaints can be about:
The quickest way to get a response is to contact us directly – either in person, by email, phone or letter or you can make a complaint using our online form below. You should normally receive an acknowledgement within 5 working days and a response to your complaint within a further 10 working days. Here's a handy infographic showing our complaints process.
The best way for us to understand your needs and work towards resolving any issues you have is to speak directly to us.
But many people want to use AI (eg ChatGPT) to help write or organise your complaint as it can make it easier to explain what has happened.
To help us understand your complaint quickly and put things right, it’s important it stays clear, accurate and based on your experience.
Think about what you want to say first.
Try to have:
Keep your information safe
If you use AI:
You can use AI to help structure and explain your complaint.
What works well
What to watch out for
AI tools can sometimes:
They may also include references to laws, rights or policies that:
This can sometimes lead to confusion or different expectations about what should happen.
If your complaint refers to laws or policies, we encourage you to treat this with care and check if this is correct through another source (see point 3 below). AI can sometimes get things wrong or misinterpret how they apply.
We’re happy to talk this through with you and explain how any laws or policies relate to your situation, including where something may have been misunderstood.
If anything is unclear or does not match the situation, we may contact you to confirm the details before we investigate.
If you would like more information about your rights, you may find it helpful to check trusted advice websites.
These include:
These websites provide reliable, up-to-date information about housing law and your rights. You can use them alongside AI tools, or instead of AI, to help you understand your situation.
Using AI with trusted information
If you do use AI, it can help to check the information it provides.
You could try:
This can help make sure your complaint is based on accurate information and the right expectations.
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Simple prompts you can use - You can copy and paste these into an AI tool. Explaining what happened I need to explain what happened. Here are the facts: [write what happened] Help me put this into a clear timeline in the right order. Explaining what went wrong Here are the problems I want to complain about: [list the issues] Help me turn this into clear, factual sentences. Do not add anything that I have not written. Keeping it simple Rewrite this in plain English. Keep it short, clear and easy to understand. Explaining the impact Here is how this situation affected me: [write impact] Help me explain this clearly and link it to what went wrong. Saying what you want Add a short paragraph explaining what I would like to happen next. Keep it clear and reasonable. Turning it into a full complaint Use the information above to write a clear, polite complaint. Only use the facts I have given. Do not add or guess any extra information. Keep it clear and easy to read. Checking information Plain Text Check this complaint against information from Shelter or Citizens Advice. Tell me if anything about the law or my rights might not apply or may be unclear. Do not add new facts. |
Take a few minutes to check it.
Ask yourself:
Remove anything that isn’t accurate or needed.
Once we receive your complaint, we will:
Using AI can be helpful, but your complaint should always be:
This helps us deal with your complaint as quickly and fairly as possible.
If you’re not happy with the response to your complaint or the way it was handled, you can ask for a review. Details about you can do this will be included in our initial response to you. We aim to issue our reply within 20 working days, once we understand the reasons why you remain dissatisfied.
If you are unhappy with the result of the review you can contact the Housing Ombudsman.
Please note you can ask the Housing Ombudsman for advice and support at any time during the handling of your complaint. You can also approach your MP or your local Councillor.
Find contact details for your MP or phone 020 7219 4272.
This page explains the role of the regulator and what they do when they receive a complaint or referral - Information for social housing tenants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you would like to know more about how to make a complaint, click here to read our leaflet.
You can download a full copy of our Customer Complaints and Feedback Policy by clicking here.
You can find the Housing Ombudsman Service contact details here.
To support customers and colleagues we have an Unreasonable or Persistent Complainants Framework, you can download a copy here.
We have created an Annual Summary of our Complaints and Service Improvement for 2024/25 which is available here.
Examples of how customer feedback has been used in the past can be found here.
We have recently completed a self-assessment of the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code. To view it, please click here. You can view the Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code here.
When publishing the self-assessment as part of the annual complaint performance and service improvement report, landlords must include the governing bodies response to the report.
The purpose of publishing the governing body’s response to the self-assessment is to provide assurance that the self-assessment is a true reflection of the landlord’s complaint handling.
Plus Dane’s self-assessment against the Complaint Handling Code has been scrutinised by our Purpose Committee and presented to Board alongside the annual complaint performance report.
This performance report details service improvement actions taken throughout the year, alongside opportunities to be explored for improving consistency of complaint handling and mitigating potential risks. In order to deliver our key objectives, as a Board, it is important for us to receive information about the services and experiences we are delivering. Hearing directly from customers and colleagues is critical to our understanding.
We receive regular performance information, assessed against key performance indicators, and we hear directly from the Customer Assurance Panel who form an integral part of our governance structure.
We were pleased to welcome a new Board member with lived experience of being a Plus Dane customer and we take other opportunities to hear from customers and colleagues directly.
We recognise the improvements delivered this year in our complaint handling performance, driven by our transition to a central led team following successful completion of a task force in 2023 commissioned by our Chief Executive and supported by Board. This has enabled increased Board oversight of key processes and outcomes, including our approach to Housing Ombudsman returns and our performance reporting is starting to highlight improvements in the service we provide when handling and resolving complaints and we look forward to seeing this continue over the next year as we start to embed new approaches across our wider service delivery.
We are aware that this transition period has not been without its challenges, and our Member Responsible for Complaints has taken an active role in holding Plus Dane to account for its performance. The member has requested updates relating to specific cases, dissatisfaction they have been made aware of and scrutinised the quarterly reports presented to Purpose Committee.
They have challenged the management team to provide further information within the annual review, such as a deeper dive into how we use our equality diversity and inclusion data to analyse not only complaints performance, but also overall service delivery for customers.
This allows us as a Board to see evidence of the positive impact the member’s role is having in ensuring we take appropriate learnings from our complaint handling. We are assured that the self-assessment is a true reflection of complaint handling across the year and welcome the transparency of the information shared.
Our strategic project portfolio continues to be influenced by complaints and customer feedback, such as the appointing of a new software provider to support our repairs and maintenance service through our Homes project and the work completed to bring the communal cleaning service in house to improve quality and overall customer experiences.
