Complaints, compliments,and suggestions

Complaints, compliments and suggestions

We want you to be happy with the services you receive and we want to know when we get things right. We want to improve on what we do by building on our successes and learning from our mistakes.

We want to:

  • Listen to your feedback, good or bad
  • Deal with complaints efficiently and effectively
  • Keep you up to date with progress
  • Be open and honest about the process

If we fail to deliver on our promises, you may wish to complain, and this page tells you how to do it.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is when you tell us you are dissatisfied with Bolton at Home services (this is also known as an expression of dissatisfaction). 

This could include when:

  • You think we have done something badly or wrong.
  • You think we have not done something that we said we would do.
  • You think we have failed to provide a service to the agreed standard.
  • You think we have treated you unfairly or discourteously.

A complaint could also be about a person or organisation acting on behalf of Bolton at Home. For example, it could be about one of our partners or contractors, who Bolton at Home pays to provide services for its customers.

Bolton at Home define a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction by a customer when something has gone wrong. This may be about the quality of the service you received, how we delivered the service to you, how you were dealt with or how you have been affected as an individual /or a group.

We ask that you contact us with your feedback within six months of the incident occurring to allow us to deal with the matter as soon as possible.

We are unable to accept your complaint if:

  • It relates to a first time request for a service;
  • Legal proceedings are pending or have started, or where there is a legal solution;
  • It relates to an issue that has occurred due to an Act of God e.g. high winds;
  • It is a disagreement with our policies or procedures;
  • It relates to reports about neighbour nuisance and/or antisocial behaviour (this will be dealt with under our Antisocial Behaviour Policy);
  • It is considered the demands are unreasonable / aggressive or unreasonably persistent.

The complaints process: how do Stage 1 and 2 complaints work?

Stage 1 complaint:

We have a specialist dedicated team of Customer Care Coordinators to handle your complaint, compliment or suggestion. If you want to make a direct complaint, compliment, or suggestion, you can:

  • Use our web forms (by clicking or tapping on the tiles above)
  • Send a letter to the Customer Care Team (you'll find our address below)
  • Email us at customer.care@boltonathome.org.uk
  • Phone our Customer Contact Centre on 01204 328000
  • Send us a private message on Facebook
  • Or contact your local MP/Elected Member to act on your behalf. A list of MPs/ Elected Members can be found at www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps

To help us assist you:

  • Please provide your name and address
  • Let us know about your feedback
  • Let us know what you think we should do
  • Please provide your daytime contact number and email address (if you have one)

We will always try to resolve your complaint in the first instance over the telephone, but if this is not possible and we need time to look at it, we will acknowledge that we have received your complaint with five working days. We will aim to provide you with a full response within 10 working days. If we can’t get back to you in that time, we will explain why and tell you how long it will take.

Here's our address:
Bolton at Home
98 Waters Meeting Road
Bolton
BL1 8SW
01204 328000
customer.care@boltonathome.org.uk

Stage 2 complaint (Senior Management review):

If, after we have investigated your complaint, you are still not happy you can ask us to progress to Stage 2. This review will usually be done by a Senior Manager or a Director. They will undertake a detailed review and investigation to ensure your complaint has been handled in a fair and appropriate manner and a written response will be provided to you within 20 working days.

Want to leave feedback on our complaints process?

You can leave feedback on our complaints process if you'd like to tell us how we did or how we can improve.

To leave feedback, please telephone 01204 328000 or send an email to customer.care@boltonathome.org.uk.

Want to provide feedback or make a request for information? Please tap a button below:

Get more information

If you'd like to learn more about our customer feedback (complaints) process, you can access our Customer feedback policy below:

You can read our Customer feedback policy by visiting the 'Our policies and strategies' page and tapping 'Customer feedback policy': www.boltonathome.org.uk/our-policies-and-strategies.

If you'd like more information relating to our Customer feedback policy, please contact the Customer Care team either by email (customer.care@boltonathome.org.uk) or telephone (01204 328000).

Compensation and redress policy:

Sometimes you might feel you need compensation from us. For more information on how we deal with these requests, please visit the 'Our policies and strategies' page to view our Compensation and redress policy: www.boltonathome.org.uk/our-policies-and-strategies.

Contact the Housing Ombudsman Service

If you remain dissatisfied with the way we have handled your complaint, you can ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to escalate your complaint after you have completed our complaints procedure.

The contact details for the Housing Ombudsman Service are as follows:

Housing Ombudsman Service Address:

Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 1484
Unit D
Preston
PR2 0ET

See our Housing Ombudsman self-assessment (2024)

Sharon Hanbury

"The self-assessment process has been a valuable opportunity for us to look at how well we’re doing in handling complaints and ensuring we meet the standards set by the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code." - Sharon Hanbury on our Housing Ombudsman self-assessment.

You can read our Housing Ombudsman self-assessment by tapping here:  Self-assessment against-the-HO-complaint-handling-code-[docx]-322KB.

If you'd like to learn more about why the Housing Ombudsman self-assessment is important, Sharon Hanbury (a member of our Operations Committee and Board member) provides an overview below:

As the Chair of our Operations Committee, a Board member, and the member responsible for complaints (MRC), I’m a champion for you, our customers and communities. My roles are platforms for driving positive change, especially in ensuring our complaints process is efficient, fair, and focused on people.

The self-assessment process has been a valuable opportunity for us to look at how well we’re doing in handling complaints and ensuring we meet the standards set by the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. We’ve made sure to include the views of tenants, with representatives from our Scrutiny Panel and Operations Committee joining in workshops and scrutinising information shared by the organisation. This team effort has led to real, meaningful changes in our self-assessment.

In 2023/24, we saw an increase in complaints, some of which were complex. This tested our ability to respond within the timeframes set by the Housing Ombudsman. We rose to this challenge by increasing the number of staff dealing with complaints in both our Customer Care Team and Property Maintenance Services. This led to positive outcomes, with 97% of new complaints being addressed on time in April 2024.

However, we acknowledge that there is more work to do. We’re closely examining the reasons behind complaints and learning from these experiences to prevent similar issues in the future and improve our services.  We’re committed to continuous improvement and to being open and honest in how we handle customer complaints. We want customers to be happy with our services, and we value your feedback, both when things go well and when we fall short.

I encourage all tenants to take a moment to read this section of the website, to better understand your rights and our procedures. Your feedback isn’t just important to us, it’s essential. I urge you to let us know when something isn’t right so we can learn and improve.

Thank you, Sharon.

Read our Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report (2024)

Pen and paper icon

Our Annual Complaints and Service Improvement Report provides an analysis of the customer feedback we've received during 2023 to 2024 under the complaints handling procedure.

You can read our Annual Complaints and Service Improvement Report by tapping here:  Annual-Complaints-Performance-and-Service-Improvement-Report-2023-to-24-[docx]-116KB.

The report aims to highlight key information and trends from customer feedback during the given time. It also outlines our plans to improve services by addressing key themes raised in complaints.

Complaints relating to your neighbours, or R-haus (our subsidiary)

  • If you'd like to make a complaint about a neighbour, please contact our Neighbourhood Safety and Enforcement (antisocial behaviour) Service. You'll find their contact details at: www.boltonathome.org.uk/tackling-asb.
  • If you'd like to register a complaint with R-haus (our subsidiary), please contact them directly by visiting their website: www.r-haus.org/contact (opens in a new tab).