Complaints Procedure

INTRODUCTION

The Society of St James (SSJ) seeks to provide high quality services at all times, but we recognise that there may be occasions when something goes wrong or does meet the required standard. When this happens we respect your right to make a complaint.

Our staff are here to assist you in any way they can and you may contact staff at any of our services to lodge your complaint or you can contact us directly at our head office:

125 Albert Road South,
Southampton,
SO14 3FR

T: 023 8063 4596

The office is open Monday – Thursday from 9 am – 5 pm and on Friday from 9 am – 4.30 pm. If you telephone outside of these hours you can leave a message on our answering machine and a member of our staff will contact you as soon as possible on the next working day.

WHEN TO USE THIS PROCEDURE

You should use this procedure if you are a tenant / service user of any SSJ service and wish to make or notify SSJ of a complaint

TIME FRAMES

We aim to complete each stage of this procedure within two weeks, but it is important that you understand that this may not always be possible, particularly if your complaint is more complex. We will keep you informed throughout the process but if at any time you feel that your complaint is not being responded to quickly enough you should contact our Admin Team on T: 023 8063 4596 at head office who will put you in contact with the Investigator.

If you are not happy with the response you receive to your complaint you have two weeks to request that it proceeds to the next stage, however, we may accept requests after the two week period if there are extenuating circumstances.

STAGE ONE

If you have a usual contact at SSJ, such as a Support Worker or a Housing Management Worker, you should contact them in the first instance to lodge your complaint. If you don’t have a usual contact, then telephone the Admin Team at our Head Office.

The member of staff you speak to will ask for the following information:

  • Your name and a contact telephone number and address
  • The best way to contact you again
  • The details of your complaint
  • Whether you have any special needs we must consider, such as a language difficulty or a sensory impairment
  • What outcome you are seeking

The information you provide will be written down and your complaint will be passed to the most appropriate person for investigation.

You can make your complaint anonymously and it will still be investigated but it will be more difficult to provide you with any feedback.

Within five working days you will receive a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint. The letter will:

  • Provide you with a Complaint Record number of future reference
  • Confirm the date on which your complaint was received
  • Provide the name of the person who will be investigating your complaint (usually a Manager)
  • Provide the date when you can expect to hear from the Investigator

If your complaint is one that can easily be resolved, this letter may also contain details of the investigation and the resolution reached.

Within two weeks of making your complaint, you can expect to receive further written correspondence from the Investigator, either providing you with the result of the investigation or informing you that they need more time to investigate your complaint.

You will be given reasons for the need to extend the time frame for the investigation.

If, after you have received this correspondence, we do not hear anything else from you within two weeks, we will assume that you are satisfied with the outcome and your complaint will be closed. You will then receive a Complaints Feedback form to complete and return to us.

STAGE TWO

If you have received a response to your complaint but are still not satisfied with the outcome then you should contact the Admin Team at our Head Office and request that your complaint proceeds to Stage Two. The Admin Team will then provide you with the name of a more senior manager to whom the details of your complaint will be passed for further investigation.

The manager will review how your complaint was investigated at Stage One and respond to you with the outcome of their investigation into this. It may be that they uphold the original outcome or they may offer you a different resolution.

STAGE THREE

In the event that you are still not satisfied that your complaint has been resolved you should write to the Chair of the Board at our Head Office, providing as much information about your original complaint and why you are still unhappy that it has not been resolved to your satisfaction. The Chair will investigate your complaint and try to find a resolution that you are satisfied with.

PURSUING YOUR COMPLAINT

If you reach the end of SSJ’s Complaints Procedure and are still unhappy with the outcome you may be able to obtain further advice from one of the agencies that monitor the work of SSJ or you may seek advice from a solicitor or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (see below for Contact Details).

Trevor Pickup (Chief Executive)  

T: 023 8063 4596

The Society of St James
125 Albert Road South
Southampton
SO14 3FR

Southampton City Council 

T: 023 8083 3000

Integrated Commissioning Unit
Civic Centre
Civic Centre Road
Southampton
SO14 7LY

Portsmouth City Council 

T: 023 9282 2251

Integrated Commissioning Unit
Civic Offices
Portsmouth
PO1 2AL

The Care Quality Commission

T: 03000 616161

City Gate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA

Citizen’s Advice Bureau

Contact: Visit Website

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau is a network of independent charities that offer confidential advice online, over the phone, and in-person, for free.

Independent Housing Ombudsman

T: 0300 111 3000

Exchange Tower
Harbour Exchange Square
Isle of Dogs
London
E14 9GE