1. Definitions

In this Complaints Policy the following expressions have the following meanings:

"Appeal"	Refers to your request to escalate a Complaint from Stage One to Stage Two if you are not satisfied with the outcome at Stage One;
"Appeal Handler"	Refers to a member of staff of Kirby Property Solutions Ltd working at Director level who will handle Stage Two Complaints;
"Business Day"	Refers to any day (other than Saturday or Sunday) on which ordinary banks are open for their full range of normal business in the UK;
"Complaint"	Refers to a Complaint about the service provided by Kirby Property Solutions Ltd about our customer service, or about our staff;
"Complaint Handler"	Refers to a member of staff of Kirby Property Solutions Ltd working at Director level who will handle Stage One Complaints;
"Complaints Policy"	Refers to this document;
"Complaints Procedure"	Refers to the internal Complaints handling procedure of Kirby Property Solutions Ltd which is followed when handling a Complaint and is available by contacting the company office (Tel: 07522 313868), providing your details and a copy will be posted or emailed to you;
"Complaint Reference"	Refers to a unique code assigned to a Complaint that will be used to track the Complaint;
"Customer"	Refers to a service user of Kirby Property Solutions Ltd;
"Data Protection"	Refers to our Data Protection Policy, available upon request;
"External Resolution"	Refers to the referral by a Customer of a Complaint to an external redress scheme for resolution if that Customer is not satisfied with the outcome at Stage Two;
"Final Viewpoint Letter"	Refers to a letter sent by a Complaint Handler informing that Customer of the outcome of their Complaint at Stage Two;
"Stage One"	Refers to the first stage in our Complaints Handling Procedure under which Complaints will be handled by a Complaint Handler;
"Stage Two"	Refers to the second stage in our Complaints handling procedure under which a Customer may appeal the outcome of a Stage One Complaint and under which Complaints will be handled by an Appeal Handler;
"Outcome Letter"	Refers to a letter sent by a Complaint Handler informing that Customer of the outcome of their Complaint at Stage One;
"Professional Body"	Refers to The Property Ombudsman (TPO);

2. What this Complaints Policy Covers

1. This Complaints Policy applies to the provision of services by Kirby Property Solutions Ltd to our customer service and to our staff.
2. For the purposes of this Complaints Policy, any reference to Kirby Property Solutions Ltd also includes our employees, agents and subcontractors.
3. Complaints may relate to any of our activities and may include (but not limited to):
   1. The quality of customer service you have received from Kirby Property Solutions Ltd;
   2. The behaviour and/or professional competence of our staff;
4. The following are not considered to be Complaints and should therefore be directed to the appropriate person:
   1. Matters concerning contractual or other legal disputes;
   2. Formal requests for the disclosure of information, for example, under the Data Protection Act;

3. Making a Complaint

1. All Complaints, whether they concern our services, our customer service, or our staff, should be made in one of the following ways:
   1. In writing, addressed to David Kirby, 99 Canterbury Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 4HG;
   2. Or by email, addressed to David Kirby at solutions@kirby-property.com
2. When making a Complaint, you will be required to provide the following information in as much detail as is reasonably possible:
   1. Your name, address, telephone number and email address (We will contact you using your preferred contact method as your Complaint is handled);
   2. If you are making a Complaint on behalf of someone else, that person's name and contact details as well as your own;
   3. If your Complaint relates to a particular property we are dealing with, the property details;
   4. If you are making a Complaint about a particular member of staff, the name and, where appropriate, position of that person;
   5. Further details of your Complaint including, as appropriate, all times, dates, events, and people involved;
   6. Details of any documents or other evidence you wish to rely on in support of your Complaint;
   7. Details of what you would like Kirby Property Solutions Ltd to do to resolve your Complaint and to put things right. (Please note that whilst we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate such requests, we are not bound to take any action beyond that which we may be contractually or otherwise legally obliged to take.)

4. How We Handle Your Complaint

1. Kirby Property Services Ltd operates a Two Stage Complaints Handling Procedure. Following our Complaints Procedure, our aim is to always resolve Complaints to your satisfaction at Stage One without further recourse. If you are not satisfied at the end of Stage One, you may escalate your Complaint to Stage Two. If you are still not satisfied following our Final Viewpoint Letter, Complaints may be referred to our Professional Body as detailed below.
2. Stage One:
   1. Upon receipt of your Complaint, the person identified above in Section 3.1 will log the Complaint in our Complaints Log and will acknowledge receipt of it in writing within 3 business days, giving you a Complaint Reference number.
   2. When we acknowledge receipt of your Complaint we will also provide details of your Complaint Handler. This may be the person to whom your original Complaint was directed (as above) or your Complaint may be assigned to another appropriate member of our team.
   3. If your Complaint relates to a specific member of staff, that person will be informed of your Complaint and given a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond. Any communication between you and the staff member in question should take place only via the Complaint Handler and we respectfully ask that you do not contact the staff member in question directly concerning the Complaint while we are working to resolve it.
   4. If we require any further information or evidence from you, the Complaint Handler will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible to ask for it. We ask that you use reasonable efforts to supply any such information or evidence quickly to avoid delaying the complaints handling process. If you are for any reason unable to provide such information or evidence, we will use all reasonable efforts to proceed without it, however please be aware that we will not ask for further information or evidence unless we consider it important to the successful resolution of your Complaint.
   5. We aim to resolve Stage One Complaints within 15 business days. However, in some cases, particularly if your Complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible. If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay, the likely length of the delay and the reasons for it.
   6. At the conclusion of Stage One, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with full details of our investigation (Outcome Letter), our conclusions from that investigation, and any action taken as a result. You will also be reminded of your right to appeal our decision and escalate the Complaint in the form of an Appeal.
3. Stage Two:
   1. If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your Complaint at Stage One, you may appeal the decision and have the Complaint escalated to Stage Two. Appeals will be handled by a Director level member of our team.
   2. Appeals, quoting your original Complaint Reference, should be directed to your original Complaint Handler who will forward the request to an appropriate Appeal Handler. Receipt of Appeals will be acknowledged in writing within 3 business days. When we acknowledge receipt of your Appeal, we will also provide details of your Appeal Handler.
   3. If your Complaint relates to a specific member of staff, that person will be informed of your Appeal and given a further opportunity to respond. Any communication between you and the staff member in question should take place only via the Appeal Handler and we respectfully ask that you do not contact the staff member in question directly concerning the Complaint while we are working to resolve it.
   4. If we require any further information or evidence from you, the Appeal Handler will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible to ask for it. We ask that you use reasonable efforts to supply any such information or evidence to us quickly to avoid delaying the complaints handling process. If you are for any reason unable to provide such information or evidence, we will use all reasonable efforts to proceed without it, however please be aware that we will not ask for further information or evidence unless we consider it important to the successful resolution of your Complaint.
   5. We aim to resolve Stage Two Complaints within 5 business days, however in some cases, particularly if your Complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible. If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay, the likely length of the delay and the reasons for it.
   6. At the conclusion of the Stage Two procedure, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with full details of our investigation (Final Viewpoint Letter), our conclusions from that investigation, and any action taken as a result. Our decision at this stage is final, subject to your right to seek External Resolution of your Complaint.
   7. As we are members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) you, as a service user, have the right to seek External Resolution of your Complaint from that redress scheme if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Stage Two Complaint.
4. External Resolution:
   1. If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your Complaint at Stage Two you may refer your Complaint to The Property Ombudsman. Any such referral must be made within 12 months of receipt of our final decision.
   2. For details of their complaint and conflict resolution mechanisms, please contact them by emailing admin@tpos.co.uk or see their website at www.tpos.co.uk
   3. Please note that The Property Ombudsman will only be able to consider complaints relating to a breach of its rules of conduct and that complaints have been addressed through this complaints procedure prior to being submitted for independent review.

5. Confidentiality and Data Protection

1. All Complaints and information relating thereto are treated with the utmost confidence. Such information will only be shared with those staff members of Kirby Property Solutions Ltd who need to know in order to handle your Complaint.
2. We may ask for your permission to use details of your Complaint (with your personal details removed) for internal training and quality improvement purposes. If you have given such permission, you may revoke it at any time by contacting David Kirby (Director) whose details are provided above in Section 3.1.
3. All personal information that we may collect (including, but not limited to, your name and address) will be collected, used and held in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and your rights under that Act.

6. Questions and Further Information

If you have any questions or require further information about any aspect of this Complaints Policy or about our Complaints Procedure, please contact David Kirby by post at Kirby Property Solutions Ltd, 99 Canterbury Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 4HG or by telephone on 07522 313868 or by email at solutions@kirby-property.com

7. Policy Responsibility and Review

1. Overall responsibility for this Complaints Policy within Kirby Property Solutions Ltd and the implementation thereof lies with David Kirby (Director).
2. This Complaints Policy is regularly reviewed and updated as required.
3. This Complaints Policy was adopted on 1^st January 2025
4. This Complaints Policy was last reviewed on 12^th January 2025.