Complaints procedure

Complaints

We do everything we can to make sure Residents enjoy living at our Retirement Villages and hope you never have cause to complain. However, we recognise that sometimes you need to provide feedback on any concerns or queries you may have. We really value your input as it enables us to make improvements.

We encourage our Residents to speak honestly about what it is like to live with us. We believe this enables us to constantly improve our service and create the best environment for everyone.

We will, where appropriate, make reasonable adjustments for those who might be disadvantaged because of factors such as their age, infirmity, disability, lack of knowledge, lack of linguistic or numeracy ability, economic circumstances, bereavement or do not speak English as a first language.

We ask you to respect the escalation process set out in this document and
ensure your complaint is first with the relevant Village Team. This will enable
us to handle your complaint efficiently and effectively.

Who can complain?

Anyone who wants to be or is a Resident in one of our Villages, a relative or an appointed friend of a Resident can complain if they are not satisfied with the way we have treated them. We will co-operate in the same way with anyone appropriately appointed on behalf of complainants as we would with the complainants themselves.

Please raise any complaint as soon as possible as this makes it much easier to investigate.

We will not treat you any differently if you make a complaint.

Please be advised that it is vital the following complaints procedure is accurately followed. If it is not, your complaint will be forwarded to the relevant individual to take the matter forward.

Our Complaints Procedure

STAGE ONE (Village Review)

Please contact the relevant village staff member or village General Manager in writing, over the phone, face to face, or via a complaint form available at the Village Reception. The person you contact will try to remedy the situation as quickly as possible, over the phone or face to face. If you wish to make a formal complaint, please put it in writing, including as much detail as possible. We will then respond in line with the timeframes set out below (if you feel we have not sought to address your complaints within 8 weeks, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Property Ombudsman to consider without our final viewpoint on the matter).

What will happen next?

We will send you written acknowledgment of the receipt of your complaint within 3 working days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.

We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally be dealt with by the General Manager who will review your file and speak to the member of staff who dealt with you. A formal written outcome of our investigation will be sent to you within 15 working days of receipt of the original complaint.

If, at this stage, you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for a separate review to take place by a senior member of staff and elevate the complaint to stage two.

If the issue you have encountered is sensitive in nature and relates to Village Management, you can address your complaint to the Portfolio Director. Contact details for each Village are set out [below/in Appendix 1].

STAGE TWO (Director Review)

If you are not satisfied with our response at stage one, please advise the person that you originally submitted your complaint to, and they will escalate this internally on your behalf. The Manager will arrange for the matter to be fully investigated and, if necessary, will set up a “problem solving meeting” with you. The person investigating your complaint will be someone who has not been involved in handling your complaint before. He or she will send you a written reply within 15 working days of your request to review.

STAGE THREE (Senior / Executive Review)

If after the preceding stages you are still not satisfied with the response that you have received, we will again internally escalate your complaint to the Chief Executive Officer (the "CEO") of Retirement Villages.

The CEO will arrange for a senior employee of the Company, who has not been involved in the previous investigation, to review your complaint. The CEO will then reply to you, in writing, within 15 working days. We will always provide a final decision in writing within 40 working days of receiving [the original] complaint unless we have previously agreed a later deadline.

If you are not satisfied with our final decision as set out in the CEO’s letter, or we fail to provide that decision by the relevant deadline, you may refer your complaint to:

The Property Ombudsman

Milford House, 43-55 Milford Street, Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 2BP

Telephone: 01722 333306

Web: www.tpos.co.uk

Email: admin@tpos.co.uk

Online complaint form: https://selfserve.tpos.co.uk

Please note the following:

You should normally make any referral to The Property Ombudsman within 12 months of receiving our final decision, including any evidence to support your case, to facilitate the Ombudsman’s investigation.

The Property Ombudsman requires that all complaints be addressed through this in-house complaints procedure, before being submitted for an independent review.

As an “ARCO Approved Operator”, we seek at all times to comply with the ARCO Consumer Code (available to view at www.arcouk.ord). ARCO itself does not have a complaint handling function but has nominated The Property Ombudsman as its Alternative dispute Resolution (ADR) provider. Where we are unable to resolve satisfactorily any complaint from you about
compliance with the ARCO Consumer Code, you may refer this to The Property Ombudsman.

Retirement Villages will co-operate fully with the Ombudsman during any investigation and comply fully with the Ombudsman’s final decision, which will be binding on us.

[Certain complaints in relation to rents and leasehold management may also be referred to the Residential Property First-Tier Tribunal. We will provide you with contact details for the relevant office where your complaint appears to fall within the remit of the Tribunal.]

Notes:

If there is any delay in handling a complaint at any stage, we will always explain the reasons (e.g. sickness or a holiday) and agree a new deadline with you.

Where a complaint involves a member of staff or management who has been suspended or dismissed, or where regulatory authorities such as the Care Quality Commission or the Police have had to be informed it may not be possible to progress or comment upon a complaint for legal or regulatory reasons until the processes that cover employment and regulatory matters have been fully satisfied.

Under this procedure we do not deal with:

Complaints about decisions taken by the Committee of the Residents’ Association of any individual Village
Complaints about companies that provide care services at our Villages; they will have their own complaints procedures
Complaints about something that happened more than 12 months ago unless it has only just become known.
Complaints about something you have been to, or will be going to, a court or tribunal about.
Insurance claims against us.

Last revised November 2024