At Southway, we are committed to encouraging and listening to feedback from our customers. We welcome complaints because we know they help us improve our services. 

Information on how we deal with Complaints is contained within our policy which can be accessed by the link below.

Our policy is based on the Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, which all Housing Associations must comply with. 

Compliance with the Ombudsman's Code

At the end of each financial year Housing Associations must self-assess their compliance with the Complaint Handling Code, and submit it to the Ombudsman, also making it available to tenants on their website. Southway's self-assessment is available to view below:

We ensure we adhere to the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code which provides us with instruction and guidance on how we should handle complaints from our customers. You can find more information here.

  • Make a Complaint

    We can only deal with your issues and improve services if you contact us. You can easily make a complaint via our online form. Click here to fill in our complaints form.

    But we accept complaints by telephone (0161 4484200), e-mail (Complaints@southwayhousing.co.uk) or in person. In fact, any member of Southway Staff will take your complaint and pass it on to the relevant person to deal with.

     

    Make a complaint

    Please give as much information and detail as you can about the complaint and its history.
    Photos which evidence complaints can help us to resolve them quicker. Attach any that you have here.
  • Performance Reporting, Improvements, and Lessons Learned

    Performance Reporting, Improvements and Lessons Learned

    In addition, Housing Associations must produce an annual report on performance and a Service Improvement Plan which they must share with their Governing Body and Tenants.

    We reported performance and service improvement plan to our People and Places Committee, a sub committee of our Board in May. The documents can be viewed here and here. 

    The Code also requires us to publish the Governing Body’s response to the report. You can read that in the minutes from the meeting here. 

    Performance

    Our Complaints performance for the 2023/24 financial year is shown below.

    Quarter 

    Number of Stage 1 

    % Completed in time 

    Number progressing to  Stage 2 

    % Completed in time 

    Q1 

    29 

    66% 

    8 

    63% 

    Q2 

    26 

    96% 

    11 

    91% 

    Q3 

    27 

    81% 

    4 

    100% 

    Q4 

    58 

    79% 

    12 

    75% 

     We also had 5 cases reviewed by the Ombudsman. Three of those cases returned a rating of maladministration, one severe maladministration.

    Service Improvement Plan

    We know we have work to do, but we are committed to improving the Complaints process and responding to 100% of Complaints within target (10 days for a Stage 1 complaint, 20 for a Stage 2). Our Service Improvement Plan focuses on improving our processes and how we communicate with our tenants.

    Lessons Learned

    We have looked at the trends and data from the Complaints we have received during the last 12 months. As well as the actions in our Service Improvement Plan we have done the following:

    • Invested in more staff to deal with cases of Damp and Mould, as we received a high number of complaints on this subject
    • Made changes to our Repairs Planning process, as we received complaints about late and unfulfilled repairs.
    • Had our complaints process independently audited to make sure it was fit for purpose.
  • Get Involved

    At Southway we are Inspired By Our Communities and encourage resident participation to shape and improve services.

    We have a Service Improvement Group made up of tenants who give us feedback on how to deal with Complaints.

    Interested? Then e-mail Maureen Ward m.ward@southwayhousing.co.uk for more details.

  • Contact the Ombudsman

    You can find out more about the Ombudsman and the work they carry out by visiting their website here. You can also contact them at any point that Southway is investigating your complaint, using the following details: