How to register a complaint with regard to services supplied by Space Lettings, Space Estates or Rumball Sedgwick Block Management
Please note that Space Lettings, Space Estates and Rumball Sedgwick Block Management are trading names of Space Lettings Limited.
Space Lettings Limited operates three separate areas of business composing of:
1. Residential lettings normally using the trading name Space Lettings.
2. Residential sales normally using the trading name Space Estates.
3. Residential and Commercial Block Management using the trading names of either Space Lettings, Space Estates or Rumball Sedgwick Block Management.
Below are some guidance notes which should be read prior to registering a complaint and these cover the three separate areas of our business. A separate formal complaints procedure follows each set of guidance notes and these differ by business area, as the separate areas of our business are subject to their own specific industry guidelines. Please be assured that each complaints procedure allows for external redress if, after the complaints procedure has been completed, you are still unhappy with our internal investigation and findings.
1 RESOLVING RESIDENTIAL LETTINGS COMPLAINTS
This should be read in conjunction with our formal lettings complaints procedure which follows.
Please consider the content of this page before initiating a complaint.
The rental/letting business can be a complex matter which is bound by the Housing Act with which Space Lettings Ltd are bound and adhere to respectfully. Our client is the landlord and our customer is the tenant. We act as middle men.
We always take complaints seriously and are committed to resolving any situation as quickly and efficiently as possible and try to ensure that any misunderstandings or misconceptions are clarified.
Often there is some uncertainty of what the agent is responsible for and this can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations. We manage properties on behalf of a landlord who has financial commitments where we must always obtain authorisation for any requests from a tenant. The tenant has responsibilities which are clearly stated within the tenancy agreement.
Complaints due to Landlords or other third parties
Space Lettings cannot be held responsible for the actions of any landlord, contractor, other property agents or any other third parties. However if an issue is reported to us which involves another party then we would normally seek to assist in its resolution. However prior to raising a complaint we would ask you to consider if the complaint is due to Space Lettings or a third party. It is unfortunately quite common for a complaint to be directed at an agent, when in reality the cause of the problem has been a third party outside of the agent’s control.
Complaints due to repairs and maintenance
Unfortunately some complaints are due to repairs. Maintenance issues are not a perfect science and there will be reasonable tolerances that would be considered as acceptable. We want to achieve the quickest repair possible so please consider, before initiating a complaint, if the issue is one which will be resolved, giving a reasonable time scale and taking into consideration financial restraints and any special parts or specialised work that may be required.
Other reasons to complain may be because of our service or other issue. In the majority of cases a complaint can be resolved by calm explanation with a member of staff who, in turn, should be able to take action to remedy the situation or to provide an explanation to mutual satisfaction, within a time scale that would be considered normal or acceptable under the circumstances.
Contractors are booked on behalf of the landlord and any complaint regarding their work will be taken up with the relevant contractor and Space Lettings will seek to remedy the situation subject to approval of the landlord.
Complaints regarding maintenance cannot be handled retrospectively. If there is a problem, it should be reported as soon as possible ideally by email so that there is a clear record of the reporting of the problem.
Of course, it is vital that a maintenance issue is handled quickly and efficiently. There can be situations where suppliers cannot respond immediately to the problem due to resource or product availability. It is advisable to give a reasonable time to resolve the problem rather than become distressed that the problem has not been addressed immediately.
Our ongoing commitment to customer service
We are committed to quality customer service and more than happy to ensure that all of our customer and clients grievances are heard and resolved.
Finally, if we have failed to resolve a situation and then failed to satisfy a complaint then please could you follow the formal lettings complaints procedure on the next page.
FORMAL RESIDENTIAL LETTINGS COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
As a member of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), we aim to provide the highest standard of service to all our landlords and tenants in line with the ARLA Code of Practice.
One of the requirements of our membership with ARLA is that we have a process for assessing complaints about our service appropriate to our firm’s size and structure.
Process to follow:
All branch staff will deal with normal day to day problems on a one to one basis and will endeavour to resolve any issues as promptly as possible. However, once a formal complaint as such has been raised, i.e. “I am not satisfied with the standard of your work/conduct/behaviour etc and I wish to make a formal complaint”, then at that stage you will be requested to put your complaint in writing, setting out your concerns by referring to any related documents, terms of business, tenancy agreement, inventory, etc and send it to the staff member of the particular branch that you have been dealing with.
The complaint will be acknowledged within three working days, investigated by a senior staff member, and a reply sent to you within fifteen working days of receipt of the original complaint. You will, at that time, be invited to make any comments that you may have in relation to the response you received.
If you remain dissatisfied with the complaint response then you can further pursue the matter by raising the issue with the Branch Manager at the branch that you have been dealing with. The matter will then be further investigated and a response sent to you within fifteen working days.
Subsequently, if you remain dissatisfied with the way we have handled your complaint, please write to Jeremy Rich at the address below explaining why our response has not been acceptable to you.
Jeremy Rich
Director
Space Lettings Limited
1 Station Road
Harpenden
Herts AL5 4SA
The matter will then be further investigated and a new response sent to you within fifteen working days.
In the event that the matter remains unresolved and you remain unsatisfied with the response received you can then additionally write to Jeremy Rich at the address below explaining why our response has still not been acceptable to you.
Valerie Rich
Director
Space Lettings Limited
1 Station Road
Harpenden
Herts AL5 4SA
The matter will then be investigated again and a new response sent to you within fifteen working days.
Finally, having exhausted our in-house procedures, if you are still not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to:
Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
Arbon House
6 Tournament Court
Edgehill Drive
Warwick
CV34 6LG
ARLA will consider your complaint in line with the criteria and procedures set out in their published complaints leaflet.
Space Lettings is also registered with the Property Ombudsman Service (TPOS) www.tpos.co.uk, and so you may also refer a complaint to that organisation for consideration once our internal complaints handling procedure has been exhausted.
The Property Ombudsman
Milford House
43-45 Milford Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 2BP
Please be advised that you must make your complaint to the Property Ombudsman within 6 months of the date of our Final Viewpoint letter. The Property Ombudsman will not consider your complaint until our internal complaints procedure has been exhausted and you have received our Final Viewpoint letter. The Property Ombudsman recommends paying any outstanding fees on a "without prejudice" basis to avoid late-payment charges and/or further action.
2 RESOLVING RESIDENTIAL SALES COMPLAINTS
This should be read in conjunction with our formal residential sales complaints procedure which follows.
Please consider the content of this page before initiating a complaint.
The residential sales business is bound by legislation with which Space Lettings Ltd are bound and adhere to respectfully. Our client is the vendor and our customer is the purchaser. We act as middle men.
We always take complaints seriously and are committed to resolving any situation as quickly and efficiently as possible and try to ensure that any misunderstandings or misconceptions are clarified.
Occasionally there is some uncertainty of what the agent is responsible for and this can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations.
Complaints due to third parties
Space Lettings Ltd cannot be held responsible for the actions of any vendor, contractor, other property agents or any other third parties. However if an issue is reported to us which involves another party then we would normally seek to assist in its resolution. However prior to raising a complaint we would ask you to consider if the complaint is due to Space Lettings Ltd or a third party. It is unfortunately quite common for a complaint to be directed at an agent, when in reality the cause of the problem has been a third party outside of the agent’s control.
Other reasons to complain may be because of our service or other issue. In the majority of cases a complaint can be resolved by calm explanation with a member of staff who, in turn, should be able to take action to remedy the situation or to provide an explanation to mutual satisfaction, within a time scale that would be considered normal or acceptable under the circumstances.
If there is a problem, it should be reported as soon as possible ideally by email so that there is a clear record of the reporting of the problem.
Our ongoing commitment to customer service
We are committed to quality customer service and more than happy to ensure that all of our customer and clients grievances are heard and resolved.
Finally, if we have failed to resolve a situation and then failed to satisfy a complaint then please could you follow the formal residential sales complaints procedure on the next page.
FORMAL RESIDENTIAL SALES COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
As a full member of National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) under the umbrella of the NFOPP, we are governed by the Principles of Professional Conduct that provide a framework of ethical and professional standards that exceed any current legislation.
Process to follow:
All branch staff will deal with normal day to day problems on a one to one basis and will endeavour to resolve any issues as promptly as possible. However, once a formal complaint as such has been raised, i.e. “I am not satisfied with the standard of your work/conduct/behaviour etc and I wish to make a formal complaint”, then at that stage you will be requested to put your complaint in writing, setting out your concerns by referring to any related documents, terms of business, tenancy agreement, inventory, etc and send it to the Branch Manager of the particular branch that you have been dealing with.
The grievance will be acknowledged within three working days, investigated by the Branch Manager and a reply sent to you within fifteen working days of receipt of the original complaint. You will at that time, be invited to make any comments that you may have in relation to the response you received.
Subsequently, if you remain dissatisfied with the way we have handled your complaint, please write to Jeremy Rich at the address below explaining why our response has not been acceptable to you.
Jeremy Rich
Director
Space Lettings Limited
1 Station Road
Harpenden
Herts
AL5 4SA
The complaint will be further investigated and a response will be sent to you within fifteen working days.
Finally, having exhausted our in-house procedures, if you are still not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to:
National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)
Arbon House
6 Tournament Court
Edgehill Drive
Warwick
CV34 6LG
NAEA will consider your complaint in line with the criteria and procedures set out in their published complaints leaflet.
Space Lettings trading as Space Estates is also registered with the Property Ombudsman Service (TPOS) www.tpos.co.uk, and so you may also refer a complaint to that organisation for consideration once our internal complaints handling procedure has been exhausted.
The Property Ombudsman
Milford House
43-45 Milford Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 2BP
Information can also be found online at www.tpos.co.uk
Please be advised that you must make your complaint to the Property Ombudsman within six months of the date of our Final Viewpoint letter. The Property Ombudsman will not consider your complaint until our internal complaints procedure has been exhausted and you have received our Final Viewpoint letter. The Property Ombudsman recommends paying any outstanding fees on a "without prejudice" basis to avoid late-payment charges and/or further action.
3 RESOLVING RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BLOCK MANAGEMENT COMPLAINTS
This should be read in conjunction with our formal residential and commercial block management complaints procedure which follows.
Please consider the content of this page before initiating a complaint.
We always take complaints seriously and are committed to resolving any situation as quickly and efficiently as possible and try to ensure that any misunderstandings or misconceptions are clarified.
Often there is some uncertainty of what the agent is responsible for and this can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations. We manage properties on behalf of a freeholder, Right to Manage Company or Management Company which has financial commitments and we often have to obtain authorisation for any requests from a leaseholder or individual freeholder.
Complaints due to third parties
Space Lettings Ltd cannot be held responsible for the actions of any freeholder, contractor, other property agents or any other third parties. However if an issue is reported to us which involves another party then we would normally seek to assist in its resolution. However prior to raising a complaint we would ask you to consider if the complaint is due to Space Lettings or a third party. It is unfortunately quite common for a complaint to be directed at an agent, when in reality the cause of the problem has been a third party outside of the agent’s control.
Complaints due to repairs and maintenance
Unfortunately some complaints are due to repairs. Maintenance issues are not a perfect science and there will be reasonable tolerances that would be considered as acceptable. We want to achieve the quickest repair possible so please consider, before initiating a complaint, if the issue is one which will be resolved, giving a reasonable time scale and taking into consideration financial restraints and any special parts or specialised work that may be required.
Other reasons to complain may be because of our service or other issue. In the majority of cases a complaint can be resolved by calm explanation with a member of staff who, in turn, should be able to take action to remedy the situation or to provide an explanation to mutual satisfaction, within a time scale that would be considered normal or acceptable under the circumstances.
Contractors are booked on behalf of the freeholder, Right to Manage Company or Management Company and any complaint regarding their work will be taken up with the relevant contractor and Space Lettings Ltd will seek to remedy the situation.
Complaints regarding maintenance cannot be handled retrospectively. If there is a problem, it should be reported as soon as possible ideally by email so that there is a clear record of the reporting of the problem.
Of course, it is vital that a maintenance issue is handled quickly and efficiently. There can be situations where suppliers cannot respond immediately to the problem due to resource or product availability. It is advisable to give a reasonable time to resolve the problem rather than become distressed that the problem has not been addressed immediately.
Our ongoing commitment to customer service
We are committed to quality customer service and more than happy to ensure that all of our customer and clients grievances are heard and resolved.
Finally, if we have failed to resolve a situation and then failed to satisfy a complaint then please could you follow the formal residential and commercial block management complaints procedure on the next page.
FORMAL RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BLOCK MANAGEMENT COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
Process to follow:
All branch staff will deal with normal day to day problems on a one to one basis and will endeavour to resolve any issues as promptly as possible. However, once a formal complaint as such has been raised, i.e. “I am not satisfied with the standard of your work/conduct/behaviour etc and I wish to make a formal complaint”, then at that stage you will be requested to put your complaint in writing, setting out your concerns by referring to any related documents, terms of business, Section 20 Notices, etc and send it to the Branch Manager of the particular branch that you have been dealing with.
The grievance will be acknowledged within three working days, investigated by the Branch Manager and a reply sent to you within fifteen working days of receipt of the original complaint. You will at that time, be invited to make any comments that you may have in relation to the response you received.
Subsequently, if you remain dissatisfied with the way we have handled your complaint, please write to Jeremy Rich at the address below explaining why our response has not been acceptable to you.
Jeremy Rich
Director
Space Lettings Limited
1 Station Road
Harpenden
Herts AL5 4SA
The matter will then be further investigated and a new response sent to you within fifteen working days.
In the event that the matter remains unresolved and you remain unsatisfied with the response received you can then additionally write to Jeremy Rich at the address below explaining why our response has still not been acceptable to you.
Valerie Rich
Director
Space Lettings Limited
1 Station Road
Harpenden
Herts AL5 4SA
The matter will then be investigated again and a new response sent to you within fifteen working days.
Finally, having exhausted our in-house procedures, if you are still not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to:
The Property Ombudsman
Milford House
43-45 Milford Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 2BP
Information can also be found online at www.tpos.co.uk
Please be advised that you must make your complaint to the Property Ombudsman within 6 months of the date of our Final Viewpoint letter. The Property Ombudsman will not consider your complaint until our internal complaints procedure has been exhausted and you have received our Final Viewpoint letter. The Property Ombudsman recommends paying any outstanding fees on a "without prejudice" basis to avoid late-payment charges and/or further action.