Our services, your views

Compliments and feedback

We want you to let us know by phone, email, letter or face-to-face what you thought of the service you received. We are especially delighted to hear when we have got things right.

If you want to provide feedback, or pay us a compliment please:

• Call us on 0330 303 0089.
• Write to us - by post or email.
• Or complete the online feedback form.

Complaints

If something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied, please tell us so that we can put things right.

We record and monitor all complaints and will let you know of any 'lessons learned' in our newsletter to demonstrate what we are doing to improve the services we provide. 

Please tell us if:

• We fail to provide a service or if there is a delay in providing it.
• We provide a poor service.
• You experience unfairness, prejudice or discrimination.
• We breach our policies or procedures.
• You are unhappy about any other aspect of your experience as a customer.
• You are unhappy with our factoring service.

It is easier for us to resolve complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the service concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff working in the service you are complaining about.  They will do their best to resolve any problems on the spot.

What information do I need to provide when I complain?

Please tell us:

• Your name and address.
• As much as you can about the complaint.
• What has gone wrong.
• How you want us to resolve the matter.

What happens when I have complained?

There are two stages in our complaints procedure: 

Stage one - frontline resolution

We aim to resolve complaints quickly at the front line This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action to resolve the problem. We will give you our decision at stage 1 in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If we can’t resolve your complaint at this stage, we will explain why. If you are still dissatisfied you can ask for your complaint to be investigated further through stage 2. 

 

Stage two – investigation

Stage 2 deals with two types of complaint: those that have not been resolved at stage 1 and those that are complex and require detailed investigation. When using stage 2 we will:

• acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days
• discuss your complaint with you to understand why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are looking for
• give you a full response to the complaint as soon as possible and within 20 working days. If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you.

What happens if I am still unhappy? 

If we are unable to resolve your complaint or you are unhappy with our response, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to review how your complaint has been handled.  

The SPSO cannot normally look at:

• A complaint that has not completed our complaints procedure (so please make sure it has done so before contacting the SPSO).
• Events that happened, or that you became aware of, more than a year ago.
• A matter that has been or is being considered in court.

You can contact the SPSO by:

• Writing to them at SPSO Freepost SPSO, Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS.
• Calling 0800 377 7330.
• A contact form on its website.

Getting help to make your complaint

We understand that you may be unable, or reluctant, to make a complaint yourself. We accept complaints from the representative of a person who is dissatisfied with our service. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.

What if you have  significant concerns about Horizon as a landlord?

The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) can consider issues raised with them about ‘significant performance failures’.

A significant performance failure is defined by the SHR as something that a landlord does or fails to do that puts the interests of its tenants at risk, and which the landlord has not resolved. This is something that is a systematic problem that does, or could, affect all of a landlord’s tenants.

If you are affected by a problem like this, you should first report it to us. If you have told us about it but we have not resolved it, you can report it directly to the SHR. A complaint between an individual tenant and a landlord is not a significant performance failure. Significant performance failures are not, therefore, dealt with through this complaints handling procedure.

You can find out more about this on the Regulator’s website or call them 0141 242 5642