Why we have a complaints procedure
We take complaints very seriously and we have developed the following procedure for two reasons.
- It gives people who are not satisfied with our service (residents or their visitors) a way of getting things put right.
- It gives us a way of monitoring and checking our own performance, and getting feedback to see how we can improve and maintain our services and relationship with our residents and the public.
When to complain
If you are not happy with something, tell us. You should complain if you feel we have:
- not done something we should have done;
- treated you unfairly or impolitely;
- done something we should not have done; or
- done something badly.
Who can complain
You don't have to be one of our tenants to complain about our service. You may want someone to help you make your complaint. This could be a friend, relative or support worker.
If you would like a copy of our complaints leaflet, please ask your local YMCA for a copy.
Informal complaints procedure
Some people don’t want to make a formal complaint. They prefer to tell their local YMCA staff by phone or face-to-face. If you prefer to keep your complaint informal, the local YMCA staff will still listen to you and try to put right whatever it is that you are not happy about. Only YMCA housing staff can deal with complaints, not volunteers or temporary staff.
Formal complaints procedure
If you choose to make a formal complaint, or if you are not happy with the way your local YMCA dealt with your informal complaint, please use the following procedure.
Stage 1: How to make a formal complaint
Please fill in a complaints form, which you can get from reception at your local YMCA.
You should address your complaint to the Housing Manager, or the staff member with overall responsibility for housing, at your local YMCA’s main office.
The local YMCA staff will consider your written complaint and send you a reply in writing within five working days of receiving it.
Stage 2: What to do if you are not happy
If you are not satisfied with their written reply, you can write to the Chief Executive of your local YMCA and mark your letter ‘Private’.
He or she will send you a written reply within 10 working days of receiving your complaint.
Stage 3: What to do if you are still not happy
If you are still not happy with their reply, you can write to the chairperson of your local YMCA.
He or she will send you a written reply within 15 working days of receiving your complaint.
Stage 4: And if you are still not happy
If you are still not happy after stage 3, you can write to:
Director of Housing
YMCA England Housing
80 Demesne Road
Alexandra Park
Manchester
M16 8PJ
or send email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Director of Housing will consider your complaint and send you a written reply within 15 working days of receiving your complaint.
Stage 5: Other action you can take
If you have been through our formal complaints procedure with a housing-related complaint and you are still not satisfied with the way we have dealt with it, you can complain to the Housing Ombudsman Service. The Independent Housing Ombudsman is the person who deals with complaints about all housing associations in England. The ombudsman won't investigate your complaint until you have followed our complaints procedure.
You can contact the ombudsman as follows.
Write to: The Housing Ombudsman Service, 81 Aldwych, London WC2B 4HN
Phone: 020 7421 3800
Lo-call: 0845 7125 973
Fax: 020 7831 1942
E-mail:
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