Northwood is committed to the highest standards of service and compliance. We are bound by the Property Ombudsman’s Code of Practice.
We understand that sometimes things can go wrong and if they do we are committed to resolving problems with the minimum of inconvenience.
Our complaints procedure has been structured to ensure that any concerns are dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Northwood Luton Ltd.
42-44 Wellington Street, Luton, LU1 2QH
Email: luton@northwooduk.com
On receipt of your complaint we will adhere to the following procedure: –
Stage 1
Each Northwood office is independently owned and operated and has a local Director who will be, in part or in whole, an owner of the branch. In the first instance your complaint should be directed in writing to the local Branch Manager. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. The branch will conduct a full and thorough investigation and a full written response will be sent within 14 working days.
Stage 2
Your named contact will then investigate your complaint and will send you a detailed written reply, including their suggestions for resolving the matter, within 14 working days of us receiving your complaint.
There may occasionally be circumstances beyond our control which prevent us from adhering to this timeframe. These include: –
• when the office is closed for public holidays;
• where adverse weather or sickness has led to staff shortages;
• where we cannot respond in full without the input of a third party (e.g. contractor, landlord, tenant) who is not available;
• where we cannot respond in full without visiting the rental property and the tenant is restricting access;
• where we cannot respond in full without the input of a key member of staff who is not available.
We will contact you if we are unable to respond within this timeframe and let you know when we aim to respond by.
Stage 3
If you feel the matter remains unresolved you should write to the Director at the relevant Northwood office explaining why you are unhappy with the response. The Director will conduct a comprehensive review of your complaint and will give a final viewpoint in writing within 14 working days. If you remain unhappy with our response please see next steps below.
Stage 4
As we are with the TPO if you are still not satisfied after the last stage of the in-house complaint procedure (or more than 8 weeks has elapsed since the complaint was first made) you can request an independent review from The Property Ombudsman without charge, within 12 months of the final viewpoint letter provided in the stages above, at the following address:
The Property Ombudsman
Milford House
43-55 Milford Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 2BP
You will receive written confirmation from the Property Ombudsman that your complaint form has been received. They will write to the branch, enclosing a copy of your complaints form, and request their file and a statement describing their version of events.
The matter will be referred to a case officer who will review the complaint together with the response from the branch and make a recommendation to the Ombudsman who will make a final decision which is binding upon the branch in question.
In accordance with the code we will retain (in electronic or paper form) all correspondence about a complaint for five years.
