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We’re here to make sure making a complaint is straightforward and fair. If anything is unclear, please get in touch, we’re here to help.
Where possible, we’ll try to sort things informally, this is normally the quickest way to sort things out.
If this is the first time you’re making a complaint, it may be easier to call us and have a chat first.
Our Process
We aim to sort a complaint fairly. Our steps to making a complaint has two main stages:
This is where we aim to sort most of our complaints.
Complaints will be acknowledged, defined and logged within 5 working days of the complaint being received
A full response to the complaint will be issued within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.
We want to put things right quickly and make sure you’re happy with the outcome.
When you first contact us, we’ll ask you to give us as much detail as possible. You would need to tell us things like:
- What has happened
- When it happened
- Who was involved (if that’s relevant)
- Any more information we may need to understand the problem
We want to make this is smooth and stress-free, and we’ll always do our best to keep you informed.
If you’re still unhappy with our response at Stage One, you can ask us to review your complaint again.
This is what a Stage Two complaint would look like:
- We’ll let you know that we’ve received your request for a Stage Two review within 5 working days.
- A Senior Manager, who was not involved in the Stage One complaint, will carry out an independent review.
- We’ll provide a full written response within 20 working days of receiving your Stage Two request. If your complaint is complex and we need more time, we’ll let you know, extensions can be up to an additional 20 working days.
What our response will include:
- The stage of the complaint
- How we have defined your complaint
- Our decision and the reasons for it
- Any actions we will put in place
- Any outstanding actions
- How to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service if you remain unhappy with the outcome
This Stage Two review is our final decision. After this, you can take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
If you’re still not happy after receiving our Stage One and Stage Two responses, you can take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. You’ll find full details below.
The Housing Ombudsman
You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service at any time for advice or support. They usually only investigate once you’ve completed Stage One and Two of our complaints process.
You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service at any time for advice or support. They will usually only look at your complaint once you’ve completed both Stage One and Stage Two of our complaints process.
- They may support you during the complaints process.
- If they decide to investigate your complaint, we’ll cooperate and accept their decision.
- Once they make a decision, we won’t reopen the same complaint.
We follow the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Code and publish a self-assessment against the code at least once a year.
What Counts As a Complaint?
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our service, actions, or lack of action, made by you or someone acting on your behalf (with your permission).
You can raise a complaint in any way and with any member of our team. All staff are regularly made aware of the process and will pass details of the complaint to the right people.
Situations Outside of Complaints
While we aim to sort all complaints fairly, some issues would fall under a ‘complaint’. These include:
Legal Matters
Issues where legal proceedings have started, or a court, tribunal, or other legal body has already made a decision.
Issues Outside Our Responsibility
For example, fly-tipping on council land, which should be reported to your local authority.
Service Requests
For example, reporting a repair or requesting a service. However, you can complain about how a service or repair was handled.
Anti-social Behaviour
These cases are managed under our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy. You can still complain about how we handled an anti-social behaviour case.
Historic Issues
Incidents that occurred more than six months ago.
Resolved Complaints
Matters that have already been through our complaints process and received a final response.
Appeals
Disagreements with housing management or policy decisions are handled under our Customer Appeals Policy. You can request a review through that process.
Not sure if your issue qualifies as a complaint? Get in touch with us and we’ll guide you to the right process.
Help Us Understand Your Complaint
So we can look into your complaint properly, we may need to ask you for more information.
If you provide new information at any point that changes your complaint, we’ll continue look at the current stage. This helps us focus on sorting the issue. If you raise a new, unrelated issue, we’ll start a separate complaint.
You can have someone support you with your complaint. We’ll just need your permission before we share any personal details with them, to protect your confidentiality.
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Appeals
We aim to resolve complaints fairly. Our procedure has two main stages:
Use our appeals process if you disagree with a decision we’ve made.
An appeal is different from a complaint. It’s when you’re unhappy because:
- We haven’t done something we should have, or
- You feel there’s been a failure in our service.
The Pioneer Group Complaints Leaflet
Not sure which applies? Just get in touch and tell us what’s happened. We’ll guide you to the right process.
We want to give you a voice in how we deliver our services. If you disagree with a decision we’ve made, you can usually ask us to look at it again. We’ll explain your options if you still don’t agree.
Some decisions can’t go through our appeals process, including:
- Decisions made by other organisations, e.g. Birmingham City Council, the Government, police, utility companies, or the courts.
- Legal proceedings, such as serving a Notice of Seeking Possession or starting eviction proceedings. While we may review these decisions, they can’t go through the formal appeal process. You have the right to challenge them in court.
- Decisions made more than six months ago.
- Decisions we’ve already reviewed under our appeals policy.
- Decisions made under our allocations policy, which has its own appeal process. If you’re unhappy with one of these, you may be able to seek a judicial review.
Not sure if your situation is covered? Ask us. If we can review it, we will. If we can’t, we’ll explain why and what your other options might be.
No, you don’t. While written appeals can sometimes make things clearer, we understand that not everyone finds it easy to express themselves in writing. We don’t want that to be a barrier.
You can tell us in person, over the phone, or in another way that works for you. What matters most is that you clearly let us know you disagree with a decision, so we understand you’re making an appeal.
Our staff are here to help. They’ll support you through the process and make sure your appeal is recorded properly.
You can have someone represent you. We’ll just need your permission to speak with them, so we can protect your privacy.
You have the right to get independent advice at any time.
- Legal advice or action: If you choose to go down the legal route, we’ll stop the appeals process and respond to the legal challenge instead. We can’t run both processes at the same time, as that could affect any legal proceedings.
- Housing Ombudsman Service: They offer free, independent advice and may be able to support you during the process. In most cases, they’ll ask you to complete our appeals process first and wait for a final response. But you can speak to them at any time for guidance.
