Formal Complaints Procedure
As you have advised that you wish to make a formal complaint, please see below for the Freedom Homes Ltd. Formal Complaints Procedure.
The Formal Complaints Procedure will advise you of the information you need to include in the complaint, so that we will deal with your complaint in the most efficient way possible. We cannot discuss a complaint over the telephone, as all formal complaints must be in writing, to enable accurate recording of events and communications.
The below process will also give you an expected timeframe of when you can expect a response to your complaint.
Stage 1 – Formal Complaint
All complaints must be emailed to both:
Amy Shearing - Complaints Manager - will review your complaint at the first stage.
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Your written complaint must include:
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Your full name
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The property address
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Full details of your complaint
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How you wish to move forwards
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Your preferred resolution
Once received, Amy will acknowledge the complaint on the next working day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays). This acknowledgement will confirm the complaint is being reviewed and provide another copy of this procedure.
Amy will then provide a full written Stage 1 response within 14 days of the acknowledgement email.
This response will include:
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A summary of your complaint(s)
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Findings following an investigation
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A proposed course of action to resolve the matter
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If you wish to escalate, you must respond in writing within 28 days of the Stage 1 response. If no response is received within 28 days, the complaint will be deemed closed under our internal process, and no further correspondence will be entered into. Re-submitting the same matter outside of these timeframes will not restart the complaints process unless new and material evidence is provided.
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Stage 2 – Escalation
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If you remain dissatisfied and wish to escalate the complaint further, you will need to respond to the Stage 1 formal complaint within 28 days to Amy (amy@freedomhomesltd.com), advising why you wish to take your complaint further.
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Amy will acknowledge your escalation request on the next working day and confirm that the matter has been passed to Sam, the Company Director.
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Sam will review the full complaint, including the Stage 1 response, and provide a final written response within 21 days of the acknowledgement. This will constitute our Final Viewpoint Letter.
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If you accept the outcome, you must confirm in writing, and we will take the agreed action. If you remain dissatisfied, you may proceed to Stage 3.
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Stage 3 – The Property Ombudsman (TPO)
You may refer your complaint to The Property Ombudsman if:
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You have completed Freedom Homes Ltd.’s internal complaints procedure and received our Final Viewpoint Letter; or
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Eight weeks have passed since your original Stage 1 complaint and you have not received a final response.
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You must make any referral to TPO within 12 months of the date of our Final Viewpoint Letter. The Ombudsman may decline to review a complaint referred outside of this timeframe.
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The Property Ombudsman will not investigate complaints that have not first been raised and fully considered under this procedure.
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You can find details of how to complain on their website:
https://www.tpos.co.uk/consumers/how-to-make-a-complaint
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Failure to Follow Procedure
If the complaints procedure is not followed correctly (for example, if the complaint is not submitted in writing or is missing the required details, or if it is not sent to the designated email addresses above), the matter will not be treated as a formal complaint until it is resubmitted in the correct format.
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In such cases, the standard timelines (acknowledgement within 1 working day, full Stage 1 response within 14 days, and 28 days to escalate) will only begin from the date we receive the correctly submitted complaint.
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If the complaint is not resubmitted correctly within a reasonable period, it may be considered closed, and the same issue cannot be reopened unless new and material evidence is provided.
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Direct Approaches to Management
If a complaint is sent directly to the Company Director or any other member of staff without first completing Stage 1 of this procedure, it will be redirected to Stage 1 and handled in accordance with the timescales set out above. The complaint will not progress to Stage 2 until Stage 1 has been fully completed.