Learning from complaints - in conversation with the Housing Ombudsman

In May, we were pleased to be invited to present at the Housing Ombudsman’s latest Learning from Complaints webinar. The invitation followed an encouraging reduction in the number of our complaints found to be maladministration, recognising the progress we’ve made in responding appropriately and learning effectively when things go wrong.

During the session, we shared how customer voice is embedded across our organisation and how we’re working to ensure all teams listen to, learn from and act on complaints. Our focus is not only on resolving individual issues, but on understanding the underlying causes and making meaningful improvements that prevent problems from happening again.

We highlighted the important role of our involved customer groups, particularly the Designated Complaints Panel (DCP), which gives customers the opportunity to scrutinise our approach and, where needed, challenge us to do better. To find out more about the DCP, and the ways they help us agree practical actions to improve services, you can hear from their chair Lisa here.  

We’re committed to being clearer and more open about the changes we make as a result of feedback and complaints. That includes sharing what we’ve already done, or what we’re planning to do, to put things right and improve services for customers.

We know there’s always more we can do. One of our current areas of focus is reviewing how we communicate throughout the complaints process and beyond, ensuring customers receive timely, clear information about how their complaint is being resolved.

If you’d like to raise a complaint or provide feedback, you can find out more at aster.co.uk/contact-us/complaints. To learn more about our involved customer groups, visit aster.co.uk/advice-hub/our-involved-customer-groups.