Hafod welcomes all feedback, good or bad, as it helps us improve our services.
We aim to build strong relationships with our customers, so if something goes wrong, we want to know and will work quickly to put it right.
We also love hearing when things go well, so please share your positive experiences too.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is when you tell us you’re unhappy about something. It can be:
- Any expression of dissatisfaction or concern
- Made in writing, by phone, or through any other method
- From anyone who receives (or has been denied) a service they’re entitled to
- About something we’ve done, not done, or the quality of the service provided
- Something that needs a response from us
What can I complain about?
Below are some examples of things that you can complain about:
- Delays in responding to your enquiries or requests
- Failure to provide a service
- The standard of a service
- Treatment by or attitude of a member of staff
- Failure to follow our policy or procedure
A complaint is not the same as requesting a service, following up on a service request, or appealing a decision. For example, reporting anti-social behaviour or asking for an update on a previously reported repair would not be considered a complaint, and this policy would not apply.
Our complaints process
Hafod tenants, customers and members of the public can make a complaint to us in any of the following ways:
- By completing our online form
- By getting in touch with our customer experience team on 0800 024 8968
- Emailing us on complaint.handling@hafod.org.uk
- Contacting us via any of our social media channels
- Writing to us at St Hilary Court, Copthorne Way, Cardiff, CF5 6ES
We normally only investigate complaints made within 6 months of the issue, as it’s easier to resolve recent problems.
Complaints made later may be considered if you give a good reason for the delay and provide enough information for us to investigate. However, we cannot look into issues that happened more than 3 years ago.
If you’re complaining on someone else’s behalf, we’ll need their permission before we proceed.
We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible, ideally at the first point of contact. If a complaint can be dealt with quickly without a detailed investigation, it will be treated as an informal (stage 1) complaint.
Informal complaints are recorded on our system and should be resolved within 10 working days. They will be handled either by the person who receives the complaint or by the most appropriate team member. We will work with you to reach a quick and satisfactory resolution.
If you are happy with the outcome, the complaint will be closed. If the issue cannot be resolved informally, or if you are unhappy with the proposed resolution, it will be logged as a formal complaint and referred to the Complaints Coordinator for investigation and a written response.
At the formal stage, your complaint will be managed by our Complaints Coordinator, who will formally acknowledge it. The acknowledgement date marks the start of the investigation. All formal complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days, and we aim to complete the investigation and provide a response within 20 working days of receipt.
When discussing a complaint with you, we will usually ask you the following questions:
- What happened? During, before and since the incident/s
- What were you thinking and how were you feeling?
- Who was affected and how?
- What do you need?
- What needs to happen next to move forwards?
It is our hope that by asking these questions it is more likely that an agreement will be reached on what needs to be done to put the matter right to your satisfaction.
We aim to resolve all concerns and complaints quickly. If the complaint is more complex and could take longer for us to investigate fully and effectively, we will inform the complainant:
- Why we think it may take longer for us to investigate
- How long we expect it to take
- That we will provide regular updates as our investigation progresses
Our complaint response will provide you with:
- A summary of your complaint
- Confirmation that an investigation has taken place
- Confirmation that your complaint has been upheld, partially upheld or not upheld
- An explanation of action that we propose to take as a result of your complaint
- Provide you with an apology where we have identified failings in our processes
- Information on how to complain to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales if you are not satisfied with the outcome we have provided
To find out more about our approach to complaints and our policy and procedure on dealing with complaints, please take a look at our policy
We understand that when customers feel they are not receiving a good standard of service, they may act out of character. In some cases, customers may act in an unreasonable manner.
We do not tolerate unreasonable behaviour by customers towards our colleagues or those working on our behalf. We understand that situations can cause stress and upset and we will always look to assist our customers when they have a legitimate concern that needs addressing, but any unreasonable behaviour will be addressed.