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Chris Shorey Lettings Ltd. - Resolving Complaints

Resolving Complaints

Should be read in conjuction with our complaints procedure.

Please consider the content of this page before initiating a complaint

The rental/letting business is a complex matter which is bound by the Housing Act with which Chris Shorey Lettings Ltd. are bound and adhere to respectfully. Our client is the Landlord and our customer is the tenant/student. We act as middle men.

An explanation of this complicated business

We always take complaints seriously and are committed to resolving any situation as quickly and efficiently as possible and to ensure that any misunderstandings or misconceptions are clarified.

Often the public are unsure of what the private rented sector is about, this can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations. We manage properties on behalf of a landlord who has financial commitments where we must always obtain authorisation for any special requests.

We do not manage, or offer as part of our service, "student accommodation". We do manage and offer managed accommodation suitable for students which is very much part of the private rented sector. This means that the tenant has responsibilities which are clearly stated within the tenancy agreement. A generic copy of this can be viewed on this website.

Complaints due to repairs and maintenance

Unfortunately some complaints are due to repairs. Maintenance issues are not a perfect science and there will be reasonable tolerances that would be considered as acceptable. Plymouth is a very old city and the houses are generally over 100 years old, these houses, just like humans, occasionally need some extra tender loving care or a facial! We want to achieve the quickest repair possible so please consider, before initiating a complaint, if the issue is one which will be resolved, giving a reasonable time scale and taking into consideration financial restraints and any special parts or specialised work that may be required.

Other reasons to complain may be because of our service or other issue. In the majority of cases a complaint can be resolved by calm explanation with a member of staff who, in turn, should be able to take action to remedy the situation or to provide an explanation to mutual satisfaction, within a time scale that would be considered normal or acceptable under the circumstances.

Exageration of issues for personal gain

Sadly, our experience shows that some complaints are not about the quality of service or maintenance issues, but are generated and exaggerated in order to achieve a discount on rent (for example). When rent is outstanding or resources are tight, do not create unreasonable complaints in order to reduce rent. These types of complaints can get out of hand when either or all persons involved lose patience with each other.

Retrospective complaints

Complaints cannot be handled retrospectively: For example coming into the office to say that you have been unable to use your room for a number of weeks because of problem, cannot be reasonably considered. If there is a problem, it should be reported as soon as possible on our Communication and Repairs System, which you should already have a username and password for. If you are having problems in logging on, then please feel free to give the office a call.

All maintenance issues and complaints must be put in writing by using “The Communication and Repairs System”

Link to our Communication and Repairs System.

Of course, it is vital that a maintenance issue is handled quickly and efficiently. There can be situations where suppliers cannot respond immediately to the problem due to resource or product availability. It is advisable to give a reasonable time to resolve the problem rather than become distressed that the problem has not been addressed immediately. This can lead to unreasonable fault finding on the remainder of the tenancy and an escalation of a small problem into a larger one. Our communication and repairs system will keep you updated. If however, you have not heard anything after 48 hours, please just update the relevant ticket or re-open a ticket if the problem has happened previously and re-occurs. We are then automatically notified and able to advise promptly.

Our ongoing committment to customer service

We are committed to quality customer service and more than happy to ensure that all of our customer and clients grievances are heard and resolved.

Finally...

Finally, if we have failed to resolve a situation and then failed to satisfy a complaint as above please use the guidelines on the complaints procedure page.

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