This article explains how to get the best results from the Peabody complaints process. There are other ways to complain at the bottom of the article.
- Overview of the process
- Submitting the formal complaint
- The Stage 1 Response
- The Stage 2 Response
- Housing Ombudsman
- Other ways to complain
Overview of the process
There are 3 stages to the complaints process. 2 are with Peabody, and the 3rd is with the Housing Ombudsman. You can also take Peabody to a tribunal but that process isn’t covered here.
Submitting the formal complaint
This can be done via the online form, a phone call, or in writing. You should get a response within 5 working days giving you a CASE number (example: CAS-1195028-J8W2L7).
The Stage 1 Response
You should get a Stage 1 Response within 10 working days of submitting the complaint.
The Stage 1 Response sometimes results in the issue being fixed. But, more often than not, it’s written in a way that gives vague answer.
If you are not happy with the Stage 1 Response you can ask for the complaint to be looked at again at Stage 2.
If you are offered compensation at this stage, then you can accept the compensation and still go to Stage 2.
The Stage 2 Response
Someone in the Customer Experience Team should give you a written Stage 2 Response within 20 working days.
If you are not happy with the Stage 2 Response you can then submit the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
If you are offered compensation at this stage, then you can accept the compensation and still go to the Housing Ombudsman.
The Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman will only investigate your complaint if you have reported the original complaint to Peabody and you are dissatisfied with Peabody’s resolution.
Submitting the formal complaint
What you cannot submit a complaint about
Peabody will not accept as a complaint any first time requests for service such as:
- Reporting a repair or defect;
- Requesting information;
- Asking for an explanation on a point of policy;
- First time reporting noise or antisocial behaviour.
Service requests can become complaints if Peabody fails to deal with the initial request appropriately.
The 3 ways of submitting the complaint to Peabody
1. Online form: https://www.peabody.org.uk/contact-us/make-a-complaint/formal-complaint/
2. Phone: 0300 1233456 (freephone, lines are open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday). Quietest period is in the morning before lunch.
3. Write:
Freepost Plus RRZY-EGGH-KEBY CCL,
Peabody,
Pembroke House,
Northlands Pavement,
Pitsea Centre,
Pitsea,
Basildon,
SS13 3DU.
Download a copy of the complaints form to send via post.
The Content of your Complaint
You can write your complaint in whatever way you want. However, if you want to make sure you get a clear response, then we recommend that you should write out the complaint with two main sections.
Section 1: What is the complaint about?
Try to be as detailed as you can. Include, dates, locations, names, and other specific details.
If the complaint is about a repair, then include the job number.
Section 2: How do you want the complaint to be resolved?
If you are clear about what outcome you want then it is harder for Peabody to give a vague response. For example:
- If you want an issue to be fixed, then say exactly how you want the issue to be fixed.
- If you want compensation, explain how much compensation you want and why.
- If you want Peabody to create a process so that something does not happen again
An example of a complaint
What this complaint is about
I would like this to be treated as an official complaint. Do not treat this as a request for service recovery or for local resolution. If you do this then I will file a complaint about the way the complaint was handled.
On 1 January 2024 the lift in my block broke.
On the same date I reported the repair. I was given job reference 123456789.
On 7 January 2024 I called the repairs line. They told me that this was not a priority repair.
The lift was not fixed for over 2 weeks.
How I want this complaint to be resolved
Why was the issue not dealt with?
Who was responsible for dealing with X?
Why did no one from X team pick this up on their weekly inspection?
I would like all my questions answered.
I would like a written apology from the individual or manager responsible for the mistake.
I would like you to tell me what safeguards will be put in place so this sort of issue does not happen again.
I would like evidence that safeguards have been put in place so this does not happen again.
If no safeguards are put in place so this does not happen again, I would like to know why they have not been put in place.
I would like compensation of £85 per night for the hotel that I had to stay in because I could not get into my flat.
I would like compensation of £200 for the inconvenience.
Using the online form
Sometimes the Peabody website will delete your complaint before it is submitted. To avoid this, write out the complaint on Word or your notes app and then copy and paste the complaint into the form. This also gives you a record of what you have written (although you should get a automated email with a summary of your complaint once you submit it)
Tip: So many things go wrong within Peabody that it is worth making a note of all interactions you have with Peabody. Email yourself or send yourself a Whatsapp message to keep track of what happened. The more information that you have, the more you can hold Peabody to account. For example if you ring up to chase something, note down the time and date, the person you talk to, any reference number, and what was discussed. Take your time to note down the information: you shouldn’t feel rushed.
Peabody’s next steps after you submit the complaint
When the form is submitted you will get an automated email from Peabody. If you reply to that email then no one at Peabody will read your reply.
A copy of the email from Peabody is also sent to a member of the Peabody customer services team. The member of the customer services team will respond to you.
One of four things will happen after you submit your complaint.
A call from customer services
You might get a call from a member of the customer services team to ask you if you want to move forward with the complaint or if you would prefer to have it treated as a “service recovery”.
Peabody will tell you that a “service recovery” is the fastest way to resolve the issue. In some cases this might be true. However, in reality this is Peabody’s way of reducing the number of formal complaints. If you accept then your issue will not be treated as a complaint and you will not have the opportunity to go through the complaint process or apply to the Housing Ombudsman.
We advise against having your issue treated as “service recovery”.
The complaint is given to a relevant Peabody employee
The complaint is given to the employee who Peabody feel is the most relevant. For example, if the complaint is about cleaning then it will normally be given to the caretaking area manager who looks after your area. The employee to whom they assign your complaint is called the “Case Manager”.
Peabody should send you an email from reportingacomplaint@peabody.org.uk confirming that your issue has been raised as a Stage 1 Complaint. They should give you a case number (example: CAS-1195028-J8W2L7). They should tell you that you should receive a response within 10 working days from the Case Manager.
Peabody give you a case number but do not say the issue was logged as a complaint
You might get an email from Customer.Experienceteam@peabody.org.uk giving you a case number but not explicitly saying that your issue has been logged as a complaint.
This is very sneaky: if this happens then Peabody is not being clear that they have not raised the issue as a complaint. This means Peabody does not have to give you an official Stage 1 Response.
If this happens then the most effective solution is to call Peabody on 0300 1233456 and say that there has been a mistake and request the issue be treated as a complaint. Peabody should give you a new case number over the phone.
Sometimes Peabody will tell you that they cannot log a complaint over the phone. However, this is not true. Tell them that the Peabody website says you can submit complaints over the phone. If that does not work then call again and the next person should be able to log your issue as a complaint.
You can also log a further complaint with Peabody through their website or by emailing them back about the failure to treat your first complaint as a complaint.
You receive no reply
You might not get a reply at all after 5 working days.
You should forward the emailed summary of your complaint which you received from Peabody when you submitted the complaint to Customer.Experienceteam@peabody.org.uk and ask for a response.
If you still do not get a response after another 5 working days then you can submit a complaint about your complaint not being logged.
If the same thing happens with the second complaint, then email the head of complaints or the COO or CEO https://www.peabodygroup.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-leadership/. The CEO’s email is CEOandMPCouncillor.enquiries@peabody.org.uk.
Phoning up to submit your complaint
If you phone up to submit a complaint then you should be given a case number over the phone. If you are not given one then ask for it.
Write down the case number. You will not get an email confirming anything.
The next thing you will get might be an email from the case manager (the person the complaint has been assigned to) saying that they are dealing with the complaint. Alternatively, you will get the official Stage 1 Response.
Writing in to submit your complaint
If you write in to submit your complaint then you should get confirmation via post confirming the submission of your complaint.
The Stage 1 Response
When you should receive the Stage 1 Response
The Case Manager should send a response to you within 10 working days of the complaint being assigned to them. This time limit is a guideline set down by the Housing Ombudsman. However, Peabody often fail to respond in time.
If the Case Manager is going to take longer than 10 days to respond then they are supposed to contact you to tell you that they need more time. However, they often do not contact people when they should.
If after 15 working days you do not receive a Stage 1 Response then you can email Customer.Experienceteam@peabody.org.uk to ask for a response. Alternatively, you can phone Peabody and ask them to chase the Case Manager. You can also ask for the Case Manager’s name. The name of the Case Manager can be uesful to know when you need to chase up further information.
The content of the Stage 1 Response
When you get the response it is normally sent via email on headed paper, in the form of a PDF document.
At Stage 1 you can sometimes be offered compensation. However, compensation is more likely offered at the Stage 2 Response.
If you are offered compensation at this stage, then you can accept the compensation and still go to Stage 2.
Peabody rarely fixes the issue the complaint is about and often gives a vague, non-committal response designed to make you think that they are doing something without them taking any action. If you get this sort of response then you might want to progress to Stage 2.
If you are not happy with the Stage 1 Response
You have 10 working days after receiving the Stage 1 Response to request the complaint be looked at a second time, Stage 2. If you ask to progress to Stage 2 late then Peabody may still consider the complaint at Stage 2, but will not always do so.
To move to Stage 2, email the Case Manger back and say that you want the complaint to be dealt with at Stage 2. They should email you back to confirm this will be done.
The Stage 2 Response
When you should receive the Stage 2 Response
Once the Case Manager has moved the case to Stage 2, a Customer Experience Team member will then look at the complaint further. The Customer Experience Team are a central team dedicated to looking at complaints. The Customer Experience Team member will sometimes ring you to get a better understanding of the issue.
You should receive a Stage 2 Response within 20 days. If the Customer Experience Team is going to take longer than 20 days to respond then they are supposed to contact you to tell you that they need more time.
The content of the Stage 2 Response
This response can sometimes result in a meaningful resolution but more often than not it is as unhelpful as the Stage 1 Response. Peabody usually provide a response which is vague and does not commit to anything. They usually say that they will do better in the future, but will not tell you what processes have been put in place to prevent the same issue from arising again for you and other residents.
If you are offered compensation at this stage, then you can accept the compensation and still go to the Housing Ombudsman.
If you are not happy with the Stage 2 Response
If you are not happy with the Stage 2 Response then you can take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. Peabody obviously do not want residents to complain to the Housing Ombudsman because it reflects badly on them. This is because the number of complaints is publicly available.
Housing Ombudsman
If you have reported the original problem to Peabody and you are dissatisfied with their response then you can only complain to the Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman Service considers complaints brought to them within 12 months of Peabody’s final Stage 2 Response. If Peabody gave you their Stage 2 response more than a year ago then the Housing Ombudsman may not be able to consider your case.
You can submit a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman here – https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/residents/make-a-complaint/online-form/
The Housing Ombudsman has a Complaints Handling Code which is binding on Peabody and is available at https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/landlords-info/complaint-handling-code/the-code-2024/.
Other ways to complain
Contact the head of department or CEO
Peabody’s complaints process can be overwhelming, and often provides unsatisfactory results.
You can email the relevant head of the department, or simply email or write to the CEO of Peabody.
The current (2024) CEO is Ian McDermott and the main email for complaints is CEOandMPCouncillor.enquiries@peabody.org.uk
You can also write to the CEO
Chief Executive Officer
Peabody Housing Association
45 Westminster Bridge Road
London
SE1 7JB
Contact your MP
You can either email your MP or attend one of the MP surgeries. The surgery is a chance to talk to your MP face to face. If you email your MP, you might get a response from a caseworker on the MP’s behalf.
You can find out who your local MP is at https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP.
All residents of the Pembury Estate are in the Hackney South & Shoreditch constituency. From July 2024 the MP has been Meg Hillier (Labour).
Leave a review on Trustpilot
Peabody has an official Trustpilot page. You can leave a review at https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.peabody.org.uk
Contact the media
There have been articles across the national media including the FT, BBC and ITV, as well as local press including the Hackney Gazette and Hackney Citizen.
Peabody seems to respond quickly to bad press. This can be a way to get a quick resolution. However, the issue obviously has to be fairly serious and newsworthy. The media might be interested in issues about health & safety, mould, and fire risks.
Contact a solicitor
A solicitor will assess your complaint and work out if it is worth their time taking on your case, in the hope of getting compensation. They will do all the chasing for you and go to court if necessary.
Hackney Community Law Centre serves the community by providing free legal advice to people in need. You can find information about their services here: https://hclc.org.uk/housing-advice/
“No-win, no-fee” solicitors might also be able to help you. However, they might take some or all of your compensation if you win.
External links
Peabody webpage – How Peabody says they deal with complaints
https://www.peabody.org.uk/contact-us/make-a-complaint/how-we-deal-with-complaints/
Peabody webpage – Information about Peabody’s complaints performance
https://www.peabody.org.uk/contact-us/make-a-complaint/how-we-deal-with-complaints/information-about-complaints/
Peabody website – Peabody code self assessment October 2023
https://www.peabody.org.uk/media/jwhfwvro/peabody-code-self-assessment-october-2023.pdf
Pembury Estate Residents' Association 