Complaints Handling Procedures

We put the same high standards of care into looking after our customers as we do into building our homes. However, we do appreciate that sometimes things can go wrong and so we take complaints very seriously. We are a Registered Developer with the New Homes Quality Board (www.nhqb.org.uk) and comply with the New Homes Quality Code.

If you have a complaint, please let us know so that we may have the opportunity to resolve the issue for you and learn from it.

Reporting an issue

Although we hope you will not have any problems after you move into your new home, our commitment continues after your sale has been completed.

Please contact us if you have a complaint that we have:

• Failed to do something we should have done
• Done something badly
• Treated you unfairly or discourteously

Informal complaints

If we can resolve any issue informally and you are happy with the outcome, then our formal complaints procedure should not be required. However, if you are not satisfied that the problem has been resolved or handled to your satisfaction, you may wish to make a formal complaint.

You can do this by using our formal complaints procedure set out below.

Formal complaints process

We have a robust process to ensure that your complaint is properly investigated and followed up, which is detailed below:

• Please raise your complaint with Widbrook Property Developments LTD.
• We will acknowledge all complaints within 5 calendar days of the complaint initiation date*.
• We will investigate your concerns and send a response which details our proposed pathway to resolution within 10 calendar days of the complaint initiation date*. This should explain how we plan to resolve the issue, along with the steps and anticipated timescales.
• We will send a full complaint assessment response to you within 30 calendar days. If the complaint has been resolved, this will confirm what steps were taken. If the resolution is still underway, the response will detail what has caused the delay, and the anticipated date for resolution.
• Once the complaint has been resolved, we will send you a closure response which confirms what action has been taken.
• In the very unlikely event that the complaint remains unresolved after 56 calendar days of the complaint initiation date*, we will send a further response to provide information on what has caused the delay, what the next steps are, and the anticipated date for resolution. We will also keep you updated no less than every 30 days until the matter is resolved.
• We hope we can resolve most matters without the need for further escalation. However, if your complaint is not resolved in accordance with this procedure, or you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, then you may be able to refer your complaint to any dispute resolution service offered by your warranty provider, or the New Homes Ombudsman Service.
• The Ombudsman will decide whether they accept a complaint, in accordance with their scheme rules. The Ombudsman can accept complaints that have arisen within two years of legal completion. After this, disputes within the structural warranty period may be referred to the New Home Warranty Provider, if relevant.

* The complaints initiation date (CID) is the first working day after a complaint is received. For example, if a complaint is received on a Monday, the CID is the following Tuesday. If a complaint is received on a Saturday, the CID will be the following Monday (excluding public holidays).