Thumbs-up for Westlea complaints

Westlea is one of five housing associations that have achieved success with a new Complaints Accreditation Service run by the UK’s leading performance improvement organisation.

Westlea took part in the pilot scheme for the service, which is run by the organisation HouseMark, and endorsed by the Housing Ombudsman Service. The scheme was developed by HouseMark, working closely with the Housing Ombudsman Service, and was officially launched at Harrogate in June. A strong customer-outcome focus is a key element of this accreditation service, which dovetails neatly with the regulatory framework and its emphasis on complaints.

Trained tenant assessors form part of the accreditation team, and focus groups and one-to-one interviews with tenants are key elements of the assessment. It is a voluntary scheme undertaken by providers that understand the importance of a robust complaints-handling service for their customers, as well as having an independent quality-assured accreditation.

"We are excited to have been one of the first housing associations in the country to be assessed as part of this pilot project - and thrilled to have passed with flying colours!" said Westlea's managing director Ann Cornelius.

"The process was very challenging and involved residents who had used the service giving feedback to independent assessors," said Ann. "It's also been great to get useful feedback from Housemark on how we can further improve the service."

HouseMark is offering this credible accreditation to any housing provider looking to demonstrate to its customers that it offers an effective complaints service that really works for the end user.