Natalie Birmingham
Customer Service Manager
Kate Robinson
Relationship Director
Ian Barber
Head of Build to Rent
Lee Harle
Head of Legal
Mary-Anne Bowring
Group MD
Richard Williams
Group CEO
Andrew Pratt
Non-Executive
Director
Mehdi Mehra
Chairman
bodies we answer to
Resolution, Independent Review & Redress
Ringley is a Group of companies (see full list at the bottom of this page). Depending on which part of the business you deal with, we are regulated as follows:
- Ringley Limited — member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, for residents of social housing we manage.
- Ringley, We are Una Limited, Planetrent and our other lettings/agency/management businesses — members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) Scheme.
- Ringley Valuations, Ringley Building Surveying & FM and other RICS-regulated practices — regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Whichever part of Ringley you deal with, the same in-house complaints process applies – only the final independent redress body differs, as set out below.
We are committed to providing a professional service to all our clients and customers. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards. We aim to resolve any customer issues as quickly and amicably as possible.
What counts as a complaint
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by us, our staff, or those acting on our behalf. You don't need to use the word “complaint” – if you tell us you're unhappy, we will offer you the choice to make a formal complaint.
A service request (for example, reporting a repair) isn't the same as a complaint, and we'll keep working to resolve the underlying issue even while a related complaint is investigated. If you're unhappy with how a service request was handled, that can be raised as a complaint in its own right.
How to Complain
You can raise a complaint with any member of staff, in any way that suits you – by phone, email, in writing or in person. Email quality@ringley.co.uk or speak to your usual point of contact.
We'll make reasonable adjustments where needed, including for age, disability, health, bereavement, or where English isn't a first language, and you're welcome to have a representative act, or someone accompany you, at any stage.
We will normally accept complaints raised within 12 months of the issue occurring, or of you becoming aware of it. We may not accept a complaint where legal proceedings have already started, or where the matter has already been considered under this procedure – if we decide not to accept a complaint we will explain why in writing and tell you how to take that decision further.
All our people have the authority to do the right thing. Like any business we have escalation channels to review and resolve things for you. We will involve the responsible person in resolution, that’s the way people learn best, so often escalation will be by a conference call with a line manager and sometimes with a member of customer care to minute the meeting or discussion may be the next step.
In the interests of continuous improvement issues are also fed back to our weekly Chairman’s so learning can be fed down to all team.
Here’s what will happen to your concern:
We will let you know which person or department is responsible for finding a solution, we will formally track matters that cannot be resolved during the same working day as a “Quality Tracked Issue”.
Where the ‘Responsible Person’ is unable to resolve matters, we’ll escalate things to a Senior Manager. This provides a fresh perspective and perhaps a little more experience. Our Customer Care Team are responsible for tracking progress and chasing up other teams.
We target ourselves to resolve 90% of Quality Tracked Issues within 10 working days. Those that take longer are discussed at the weekly Chairman’s meeting.
The process Step by Step
Stage 1 – Customer Care Team
If you feel that concerns & issues are unable to be resolved by the responsible person, you can email quality@ringley.co.uk who will acknowledge receipt, log, and confirm our understanding of your complaint (the “complaint definition”) in writing within 3 working days and share our complaints procedure with you. If anything is unclear, we'll ask what outcome you're looking for. They will then investigate your complaint, which will normally include liaison with the section head and other persons involved. They will then report back to you with their findings. Our aim is to provide a full written formal response within 10 working days.
If we need more time because of the complexity of the issue, we will tell you the reason and the revised timescale before the original deadline passes. Any extension will be no more than a further 10 working days.
Our Stage 1 response will set out in plain language: the complaint definition, our decision, the reasons for it, any remedy we're offering, any outstanding actions and when they'll be completed, and how to escalate to Stage 2 if you remain unhappy.
Stage 2 – Escalation
If, at this stage, you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will escalate the complaint for discussion at the weekly Chairman’s meeting for wider discussion by other leaders so that review includes persons who have not been involved in the initial review. We will then confirming our second viewpoint on the matter. A review by one of our non-exec Board can be requested if you are not satisfied with this viewpoint.
We will acknowledge your escalation within 5 working days, and issue our final viewpoint letter within 20 working days of acknowledgement.
If we need longer, we will explain why and give a revised timescale, extending by no more than a further 20 working days.
Our Stage 2 final response will confirm: the complaint definition, our decision, the reasons for it, any remedy offered, any outstanding actions, and how to refer the matter to the relevant independent redress body if you remain dissatisfied.
In total, our process is designed to conclude well within 8 weeks of your original complaint. If 8 weeks pass without our final response, you don't need to wait for it – you can go straight to the relevant redress body below.
The Housing Ombudsman
If you remain dissatisfied with our Stage 2 final response, or if we have not sought to address your complaint within our published timescales, you can then contact the Housing Ombudsman Service to request an independent review:
The Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ
Please note the following:
You will need to submit your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service within 12 months of receiving our final response, including any evidence to support your case. The Housing Ombudsman requires that all complaints are addressed through our two-stage in-house complaints procedure before being submitted for an independent review. Unlike The Property Ombudsman, you do not need to wait 8 weeks if we have already issued our final Stage 2 response – you can refer your complaint as soon as you receive it. You can also contact the Housing Ombudsman for advice and support at any point during your complaint, even before it has completed our internal process.
Putting things right
Where we've got something wrong, we'll acknowledge it and take appropriate action, which may include: an apology, an explanation, correcting a record, reviewing or changing a decision, a refund or financial remedy under our service commitments, or a change to our policies or procedures. Any remedy will reflect the impact on you and will be followed through to completion. This includes remedies under our published Service Level Agreements and money-back commitments — these are considered and offered as part of your Stage 1 or Stage 2 response, not as a separate process.
Please refer to https://ringley.co.uk/service_guarantee to read more about out Money Back Guarantee policy.
Learning from complaints
We report complaint themes, volumes and outcomes to senior leadership on a regular basis so we can identify trends and improve services. Our Team Leaders, acting as the Members Responsible for Complaints oversees this on behalf of the Board. Where our activities are covered by the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, we publish an annual complaints performance and self-assessment report against the Code on our website.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Ombudsman referrals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Upheld for Ringley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mal-administration & order for minor goodwill gesture | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Major fault & compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RICS referrals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Upheld for Ringley | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Major fault & compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
ESCALATION CHANNELS
0207 267 2900 makeringleybetter.co.uk
Ringley@Facebook
quality@ringley.co.uk
OUR COMMITMENT: RESOLVE IN 10 DAYS
As Ringley operates from both its London HQ and regional offices please note that this complaints procedure applies to all of the following:
Life by Ringley Limited Company Number 11697366
Una Living Limited 14933262
