Make a comment, complaint or compliment
We welcome your comments, complaints and compliments to help us improve our services. We will make sure that all complaints are addressed fairly, effectively and promptly.
We want to hear from you
At Community Gateway Association (CGA), we are committed to providing an excellent service and ensuring tenants' voices shape our services. Whether you want to tell us about great customer service you received, or something that didn't go as planned, we want to hear from you.
Any compliments we receive are used to understand what we are doing well and implement this across the organisation. When things don't go as planned, we will do our best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
We manage our complaints in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, and we have a clear Complaints Policy in place which is available to all tenants. Our approach to complaints is simple and accessible and we will always share information with tenants.
If you make a complaint:
- We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days.
- Stage 1: We will investigate and respond to your complaint within 10 working days after it has been acknowledged unless we notify you otherwise.
- Stage 2: If you are unhappy with the Stage 1 complaint response, we will escalate your complaint to an Independent Head of Service (Senior Manager) who has not previously been involved in your case. We will respond to your Stage 2 complaint within 15 days unless we notify you otherwise.
- Our Service Improvement Team will monitor complaint performance to make sure responses are timely and that we learn from feedback.
During the process we will discuss any reasonable adjustments you might need, which could include:
- Using your preferred communication method right the way through the complaints process.
- Making sure we don't ask for a complaint to be made in writing if this is a barrier or disadvantage due to a disability, vulnerability or additional needs.
- Making an extension to time limits (where it's lawful to do so).
- Giving you information in alternative formats, such as large print, Braille or on coloured paper.
You can submit a comment, complaint or compliment using this online form. Alternatively, you can contact us using the details below:
- Email - complaints@communitygateway.co.uk
- Phone - 0800 953 0213 (option 6)
Tell us more
The Housing Ombudsman Service
We are committed to working with you to solve issues and we will try our best to find a resolution. If you feel that your complaint is not being handled fairly or would like the response to be reviewed after your Stage 2 response, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman.
You can visit their website, call them on 0300 111 3000, email info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or contact them by post: PO Box 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET.
Oversight from our Board
We have a dedicated team focusing on Customer Insight and learning from any complaints, compliments and comments we receive. We also provide a Customer Insight Report to our Board and Tenants Committee every quarter on a variety of different channels: complaints, satisfaction surveys, call handling and the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.
Tenant Board member, Pam Watson, is responsible for making sure we handle complaints in a way that tenants are happy with. Her role is to:
- Provide our Board with regular information/updates on things that haven't gone to plan and aren't working as they should
- Work with us to identify trends in our complaints, so that we can increase satisfaction amongst tenants for the way complaints are handled
Our Executive Director of Customers & Communities, Louise Mattinson, is the senior lead person for complaints. Her responsibility is holding us accountable for our complaint handling and making sure we implement the changes required to improve our services.
Performance 2023-24
Complaints:
222 complaints received
77.03% (171) complaints upheld
Performance 2023-24
Satisfaction:
Of the tenants who made a complaint 76% were satisfied with how it was handled.
Performance 2023-24
Expressions of dissatisfaction (EODs):
141 EODs received
85.82% (121) upheld
We listen to and act on your complaints
You said:
Wider variety of appointment timeslots required
Improvements needed to handling of reports of damp and mould
Need better information on how to report damp and mould concerns
Make the complaints process easier to access and more tenant-friendly
More training required for repairs call handlers
Make it clearer what CGA is responsible for and what tenant is responsible for when moving into a new-build property
Tenants need support when left without cooking facilities due to repairs
Lack of consistency in advice from repairs inspectors
Protect tenant data better when it's part of legal proceedings
Improve customer service and communication
Ensure all colleagues follow tenant communication preferences
Make sure staff are trained in complaint handling
Make letters to tenants clearer and more customer friendly
Listen to feedback from tenants and tell us what you've done about it
We did:
Expanded the range of appointment slots available.
Improved the process for managing damp and mould
Improved information on our website and made leaflets available in reception
Updated the website and increased visibility of complaints on the website
Introduced a training programme for all repairs call handlers to improve customer service
Updated 'New-Build Home Users Guide' to make it easier for customers to understand
Introduced advance payments for food when no cooking facilities available
Carried out additional training for repairs inspectors
All information is now checked by two colleagues before submitting it to court
Custome Service Training provided to all colleagues
Improved the process to make tenant communication preferences clearer for staff
Additional training to improve the way we investigate and manage complaints
We are reviewing all letters to make them friendly and easy to understand
Introduced a dedicated team to gather feedbak and insight, looking at trends and making service improvements