Verbal complaints may be made by phone however a request would thereafter be made to confirm the nature of the complaint in writing. The business takes complaints very seriously. We always strive to provide excellent standards of service to all who deal with us, and will investigate where and why this does not happen.

If you are unhappy with our services, then please let us know. We want to understand what has gone wrong and work with you towards a solution as quickly and effectively as possible. Our complaints procedure is outlined below.

This procedure covers complaints about the way we have provided a service, behaved, or made a decision.

Stage 1: First contact

The first step in this process is to tell us about the issues you have experienced. Please include full details of your complaint and your preferred contact details.

We will acknowledge a complaint within 7 working days and provide a full response to you within 4 weeks. If this is not possible because, for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report will be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

When you get in touch with us, we will aim to resolve your complaint at the first point of contact. If further investigation is required, you will be advised of who will be your point of reference until the matter is resolved. Your assigned contact will keep you regularly updated on the progress of your complaint until the matter is resolved.

Whether the complaint is justified or not the reply will describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Stage 2: Escalation

If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, or if you feel that you need to escalate the matter further, you can ask to speak with the department manager. You can ask to do this using the contact details above.

The manager will acknowledge the escalation within 7 working days and will review the case notes/investigation to determine if the correct outcome has been reached. Ideally you should receive a definitive response within 4 weeks. If this is not possible a progress report will be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

The manager will work with you to ensure that all issues have been clearly identified and will make a decision about how best to resolve the matter for you.

Stage 2: Review for appeal

If you are not satisfied with our response at this point and we have confirmed that there is nothing more we can do, you may request that the complaint is reviewed by Propertymark’s Head of Operations or another member of the Senior Management Team.

A definitive response will be issued within 4 weeks. The decision taken at this stage is final, unless it is decided it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution.

External Stage
The complainant may wish to seek independent legal advice or advice from a Citizen Advice Bureau.

Variation of the Complaints Handling Procedure
In the event of a conflict of interest, it may be necessary to appoint a different individual at any of the Stages.

Monitoring and learning from complaints
Complaints are reviewed annually to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.

Abusive or persistent behaviour
We will not tolerate any abusive behaviour towards any member of staff.

Should any evidence of abusive behaviour be recorded, we reserve the right to restrict contact with staff and in the most severe cases, decline to proceed with any investigations until such behaviour ceases.

Likewise, persistent complaints that have already been through the complaint handling process will be disregarded if we feel that we have taken the matter as far as we are reasonably able.

Date of issue: 01/08/2018