Our role at NHOS is to consider consumer complaints and establish whether the developer has breached the terms of the code; and whether the customer was treated fairly. As well as resolving individual complaints such as complaints against builders, we aim to help improve the quality of complaint handling, raise standards within the industry and improve the overall customer experience.
When we have completed the eligibility checks of a consumer complaint and accept it as one, we can deal with, you will be notified by email that there is a case to respond to.
Our emails are automated, and it’s a good idea to add customer.services@nhos.org.uk to your safe senders list, as this is where the notification will come from. There’s a small chance that our emails may go to your spam folder and so it’s still a good idea to check your online portal regularly, just in case.
Because the scheme is still new, when we accept any case our casework manager, Paula Braceland will be in touch to let you know this has happened, and to check that you are able to access your online account.
When responding to complaints against builders, detail is key – make sure to tell us everything that is relevant to the case, even the smallest detail can be important. The more information we have about your response, the better we are able to understand what has gone on and it reduces any additional investigation time.
Evidence – if you have anything that would help explain how you dealt with the complaint such as photographs, email threads or any other relevant documents, please upload them too.
Link it together – when writing out the narrative of your response, please tell us how the evidence supports the comments.
Take your time – we appreciate that you are busy, but we would encourage you to take your time and make sure your response includes everything that you wish for us to consider. The Ombudsman has investigative powers, so by providing a detailed submission at the begging it reduces the likelihood of any delays where the Ombudsman has to ask for more information.
Our team are here to help with anything from complaints against builders to helping ensure new builds are in line with the NHQB quality code. So please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need any assistance with providing your response. You can reach us on 0330 808 4286 or at customer.services@nhos.org.uk
© 2022 New Homes Ombudsman Service, All Rights Reserved.
New Homes Ombudsman Service is operated by The Dispute Service Ltd, which is a company registered in England and Wales with number 4851694. Registered Office Address: West Wing, First Floor, The Maylands Building, 200 Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7TG.
