How to Make a Complaint

Wimbledon Park Co-operative is committed to providing a high-quality service to all of its residents.  We are also committed to treating everyone who comes into contact with the Co-operative fairly and reasonably.

Any resident who feels that Wimbledon Park Co-operative has not provided them with a high-quality service, or has not treated them fairly, has the right to use this Complaints Procedure.
The Co-operative is only able to investigate complaints raised by the person affected, and with enough information to assist staff with dealing with the complaint at hand. Your complaint will be treated in confidence.

If you wish to make a complaint, you should contact the Estate Manager in writing (either by letter or email). Telephone calls are also welcome. Please give as much information as possible about your complaint to the Estate Manager so that the complaint can be properly investigated.

Stage 1 – Your complaint will be acknowledged within two working days by the Estate Manager, who will aim to investigate and resolve your complaint within 10 working days or sooner if possible. Our aim is to reach a solution by this stage. However, there are further steps if you are still not satisfied.

Stage 2 – If you are still unhappy following the Stage 1 response, you can raise the complaint with the Council’s Western Area Housing Team Resident Participation Officer (RPO).  The RPO will collate the Stage 1 documentation and refer the complaint to the Corporate Complaints Team who will review Stage 1 and the handling of the complaint to ensure it has been thoroughly investigated and that an appropriate response was provided. You must submit your request for a review within 20 working days of receiving the Stage 1 response and you will need to explain why the Stage 1 response has not resolved the complaint and what outcome you are seeking in order to resolve the matter at Stage 2.

The process is then as follows:

• The Housing and Regeneration Department will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing within 2 working days.  The recipient of the complaint must also notify the Corporate Complaints Team who will then liaise with the complainant throughout the Stage 2 process.
• The review will be undertaken by a Senior Manager or Head of Service.

• The Council will provide a written response, with a decision on the complaint, following a review at Stage 2 within 15 working days from receipt.  If the Council are not able to meet this timescale, the complainant will be kept informed by the Corporate Complaints Team.

• Sign off is completed by a Senior Manager, usually the Assistant Director or Chief Executive.

This will be the Council’s final decision and marks the end of the complaints procedure.  At the end of the Stage 2 response the complainant will be provided with the contact details of the Housing Ombudsman Service if they are still dissatisfied.

If you are still dissatisfied with the response received, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service. The Housing Ombudsman will deal with all complaints about the Council’s landlord function from its tenants and leaseholders.  The Housing Ombudsman can only consider complaints that have been referred if 8 weeks have passed from the completion of the landlord’s internal complaints procedure. If contacted by the Ombudsman, the complainant and relevant department must provide all requested documentation within the given timescale.  This will be coordinated through the Corporate Complaints Team.

Please contact the Estate office if you wish to have more information on the Housing Ombudsman process.

The Co-operative will retain copies of the complaint, the acknowledgement, any holding responses and the final response on file according to the retention policy.  The RMO must also record information gathered, learning from the complaint, and monitor progress and stage reached for complaints. The Management Board are updated on any complaints every three months.  Complaints recorded will be fed back to the Business Support Team on a quarterly basis.