We aim to provide a good quality service. If something goes wrong and we don't meet our standards, we'll work to put things right as quickly as possible.
Sometimes an apology or resolving the issue is enough. In other cases, we may consider compensation.
Compensation isn't always a financial payment. Depending on the circumstances, we may provide practical support or take additional action to put things right.
Before you start a claim
Please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)An overview of the process
Who does the policy apply to?
The policy applies to residents, shared owners, applicants and others affected by services we provide.
However, not every part of the policy will apply to every customer. Compensation can only be considered in relation to services that we are responsible for providing.
For example, shared owners are generally responsible for repairs inside their home, so repair-related compensation would not normally apply in those circumstances.
You can ask us to consider compensation if:
- we've failed to provide a service we're responsible for
- there's been an unreasonable delay in resolving an issue
- you've experienced a financial loss because of our service failure
- you've lost the use of part of your home because of a service failure
- you've experienced significant inconvenience, distress or time and trouble because of the way we've handled an issue.
Time period to make a complaint
Compensation claims should normally be submitted within six months of the issue, fault or event.
If you're claiming for damaged belongings
You should make us aware of damaged items within 3 days. Please keep the items and allow 10 days for us to inspect if required.
The amount of compensation we may award will depend on the circumstances of your case, including the impact on you, the length of time the issue continued, and any financial loss or inconvenience you experienced.
Each claim is assessed individually and we'll take account of any vulnerabilities or personal circumstances that may have increased the impact.
Our Compensation Policy sets out how compensation is assessed, including examples of compensation awards and the approach we use for issues such as delayed repairs, missed appointments, loss of heating or hot water, and loss of use of part of your home.
Below is an example of how a compensation request may be reviewed and calcluated.
If you would like to understand how compensation is calculated, you can download and read our Compensation Policy.
To help us assess your claim, please provide as much information as possible about what happened and how it affected you.
You will also need to provide supporting evidence, such as:
- photographs
- receipts or invoices
- copies of bills
- details of any additional costs you've incurred.
Example completed form
We've created an example completed form to help residents understand the type of information and evidence that may be required.
Prefer a printed copy of the form to complete?
If you'd prefer a hardcopy of the form, please get in touch and we can post one to you.
What happens after you submit the form
Once we receive your claim, we will:
- Review your claim
We'll check the information you've provided and may contact you if we need more details or supporting evidence.
- Investigate what happened
We'll review the circumstances, consider any evidence and assess whether compensation is appropriate under our Compensation Policy.
We'll let you know the outcome within 10 working days of receiving your claim.
If compensation is awarded, we'll explain:
- what compensation is being offered
- how we reached our decision
- any action we're taking to put things right.
If compensation isn't awarded, we'll explain the reasons for our decision.
If you accept our offer, we'll make any compensation payment within 20 working days.
Payments can be made by:
- BACS (bank transfer)
- credit to your rent account
- e-voucher.
If you don't agree with our decision or the compensation offered, you can ask us to review the case.
Requests for a review should be made within 20 working days of our decision and will be handled in line with our Complaints Policy.
Please complete this form if you believe you have experienced a loss, damage, inconvenience or a service problem that was our responsibility.
Please tell us what happened and how it has affected you.
We will ask you to provide supporting evidence, such as photographs, receipts, invoices or other information that helps us understand your claim.
Need help completing form?
Take a look at the example completed form, this shows you the type of information we need from you.
Take a look at the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
If you need help or would prefer a hard copy form, please contact us and we'll be happy to assist. Any information you provide will be handled confidentially.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Compensation is one way we may put things right when a service failure has occurred.
Compensation can include an apology, a practical solution, reimbursement of reasonable financial losses, or a financial payment where appropriate.
No.
We'll investigate each case individually to determine whether a service failure occurred, whether it was our responsibility, and what impact it had on you.
Depending on the circumstances, compensation may be awarded for:
- delays in carrying out repairs
- loss of heating or hot water
- missed appointments
- loss of use of part of your home
- poor complaint handling
- distress, inconvenience, time and trouble
- proven financial losses caused by our service failure.
There is no standard payment for every situation. We assess the following.
- What went wrong
- How long the issue lasted
- The impact on you and your household
- Any evidence you provide
- Any vulnerabilities or personal circumstances
- Whether you experienced financial loss
Our aim is to provide compensation that is fair and proportionate to the circumstances.
This will depend on the claim, but examples include:
- photographs
- receipts
- invoices
- correspondence
- relevant professional evidence where appropriate.
The more information you can provide, the easier it is for us to assess your claim.
We may reimburse reasonable costs where they arose directly because of our service failure and you can provide supporting evidence.
For example, if you incur additional electricity costs because temporary heaters were required, we may ask for evidence of those costs.
We want to ensure all customers are treated fairly and consistently.
We will consider the circumstances and evidence provided, but we cannot guarantee reimbursement of every expense incurred. Costs must be proportionate and reasonably incurred as a result of the service failure.
No.
The policy does not provide compensation for loss of earnings or annual leave.
Where a room cannot reasonably be used for its intended purpose because of a service failure, we may consider compensation based on a percentage of your weekly rent.
For example:
• kitchen unavailable
• bedroom cannot be used
• bathroom out of use.
We will assess each case individually.
Yes.
When assessing compensation, we consider the impact the issue had on you and your household. This may include:
- disabilities
- health conditions
- age-related needs
- children in the household
- communication requirements
- other known vulnerabilities.
These factors may affect both our assessment and the level of compensation awarded.
Yes. The policy applies to residents, shared owners, applicants and others affected by services we provide.
However, not every part of the policy will apply to every customer. Compensation can only be considered in relation to services that we are responsible for providing.
For example, shared owners are generally responsible for repairs inside their home, so repair-related compensation would not normally apply in those circumstances.
We will investigate the facts of the case, review any evidence available and assess the impact of the service failure before making a decision.
We will explain the outcome and how any compensation has been calculated.
We aim to tell you our decision within 10 working days of receiving all the information needed to assess your claim
Where compensation is approved, payment may be made by:
- credit to your rent account
- bank transfer (BACS)
- e-voucher.
If you are unhappy with the compensation decision, you can ask us to review it through our complaints process.
Possibly.
We may consider compensation where our service failure directly caused the damage and it would not be reasonable to expect the loss to be covered by your home contents insurance.
Compensation would not normally be paid for the following.
- Personal injury claims
- Insurance claims
- Damage caused by third parties unrelated to us
- Loss of earnings
- Annual leave taken to deal with an issue
- Issues that are subject to legal proceedings
- Repairs or services that are not our responsibility