Complaints

You can make a complaint in any of the following ways:

• By using our online form below
• By email: info@bpha.org.uk
• Telephone 0330 100 0272
• By post (Complaints, bpha, Bedford Heights, Manton Lane, Bedford, MK41 7BJ)
• In person to a bpha employee
• On social media facebook/bpha.uk or X.com/tweet_bpha

Please note: we only accept complaints where a dissatisfaction has happened in the last 12 months. If you are worried about making a complaint, please ask someone to help or support you through the process, we want to make it as easy as possible for you.

Our Customer Communications Centre can be contacted on 0330 100 0272 and always aim to resolve your issue straight away. If they’re unable to do this, it may be that your concern will need to be logged for further investigation.

It might be that your issue could be better resolved through another organisation where you may be able to seek independent advice. We can help by signposting you to other organisations where appropriate.

So that we can help you as quickly as possible, please tell us what the problem is and when it started. It would be helpful if you could let us know the names of any employees you have already spoken to about this matter.

We will ask you what you would consider as a reasonable resolution and will explain to you if this is achievable.

We will strive to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. When we receive your complaint, we will contact you within 72 working hours.

At this point, we will discuss your concerns in more detail so that we can work towards reaching an agreed solution.

Your complaint handler may need to investigate further and will agree with you a communication plan to keep you informed of the progress.

When the investigation is complete, your complaint handler will contact you to advise you of the proposed resolution and any learnings identified from your complaint. Where possible this will be within 10 working days of your complaint being logged with us.

You can read and download our full Compliments and Complaints Policy here.

If you’re not satisfied with the response that you receive, you can ask for us to take another look – this is called a stage two complaint. You should do this within 20 working days of receiving our stage one response, and it helps if you tell us where you feel we have failed.

Once you ask for the complaint to the be escalated: We will confirm your request within five working days. You will be given the name of the colleague who will review your complaint and its investigation. Within 20 working days from when we acknowledged your stage two complaint, we will send you a letter explaining our findings.

If you are not happy with our final decision, or you feel we haven’t responded to your complaint, you can ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to investigate. This must be done within 12 months of our final letter. This letter will include the steps you need to take to do this.

Alternatively, you can contact a designated person who may be able to recommend other ways for it to be resolved. A designated person is:

• A Member of Parliament
• Your local Councillor
• A recognised resident panel.

The designated person may decide to pass the issue directly to the Housing Ombudsman.

We follow the guidance of the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code. The Housing Ombudsman is an independent ‘referee’ for complaints about registered landlords. It means a set, transparent process and timeline so you know what’s happening and when, with clear options if you’re not satisfied with the outcome.

It is important to us to manage your complaints correctly. The Ombudsman expects that we follow their code and we report on how we are doing.

• You can read our annual complaints and service improvement report here
• You can see our annual landlord report and our self-assessment report from the Housing Ombudsman here
• You can also find some of the service improvements we have made as a result of your feedback from complaints, satisfaction and other engagements here.

The Housing Ombudsman has now started publishing all decisions on cases it has investigated. Click here for more information.

You can get advice and information from the following organisations:

• Citizens Advice
• Leasehold advisory service: First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
• The Financial Ombudsman Service
• The Property Ombudsman
• The New Homes Ombudsman Service