A STATEMENT FOR STUDENTS, INTERNS, GUESTS, PARENTS AND OTHER USERS OF LONDON HOMESTAYS SERVICES
We very much hope that you or your child will be very happy in our accommodation, and that any concerns that may arise are dealt with swiftly by our staff.
However, we recognise that there may be an occasion when you are not entirely happy with an aspect of the service that we provide, and that you want London Homestays to deal with your concern through a more formal process. This page sets out what we will do if you wish to raise that concern informally, or make a formal complaint.
Who can raise a concern or make a complaint?
Anyone who uses our services, whether you are a student, an intern, parents of students under 18 years old or a host family, can use this procedure. Due to data protection laws, we must receive written permission from any person 18 or over staying in our accommodation before sharing information with any third party including parents/friends. In cases where this is not possible due to student/interns language ability, we are happy to receive the written permission in their own language.
How will my concern be handled?
Our procedure has three stages:
1. Raising the complaint/concern
2. Investigating complaints
3. Response to complaints
1) Raising the complaint/concern.
Informal complaints or concerns may be raised by either calling the London Homestays office on 020 8395 0333 or by emailing info@londonhomestays.com. We aim to resolve informal concerns within 24 hours. On occasions, this can take longer (usually due to not being able to contact the host or student the concern is about and/or international time differences), however we will always aim to respond within 24 hours, even if this is only to provide you with an update on what action has been taken, what the delay is and when you can expect the next response.
2) Investigating complaints
If you remain dissatisfied by our response to your concern, then you should make an official complaint. Official complaints should be made in writing, either by post: London Homestays, Marshall House 124 Middleton Rd, Morden SM4 6RW or by emailing feedback@londonhomestays.com. All complaints will be investigated and responded to within a reasonable time.
When making a formal complaint please:
- State that you are making a formal complaint.
- Give specific details of the nature of your complaint, including who or what you are complaining about.
- State what you would like to happen in order to resolve your complaint.
All postal complaints should be sent to the aforementioned address, marked ‘Confidential: Feedback for immediate attention.’
3) Response to complaints
Formal complaints will usually be acknowledged within 24 hours if received during working hours Monday to Friday, complaints made on Saturdays or Sundays may not be received until Monday morning and therefore causing the response to be slightly delayed.
All complaints will be reviewed by senior management and investigated fully. Please understand that it is important that we allow the party of whom the complaint has been made against a fair chance to respond and listen to their version of events/viewpoint. This is true in cases where a student is complaining about a host or vice versa. During the investigation process, it may be necessary to ask an assessor to visit the accommodation, record information including and not limited to photographs. In such cases, the assessor will attend the property as quickly as possible, will not be directly employed by London Homestays and will be asked to give an impartial and honest account of their findings.
Following a full investigation, a report will be produced and reviewed by senior management. A written response to the complaint will then be made and returned using the same method as it was received i.e. complaints received by email will be responded to by email.
Unreasonably persistent, abusive or harassing complainants and vexatious complaints
London Homestays expects anyone who wishes to raise problem or complaint to:
- Treat all London Homestays staff with courtesy and respect.
- Respect that there are two sides to every story and London Homestays role is as an intermediary between students/interns and their accommodation.
- Recognise the time constraints associated with conducting a full investigation and allow reasonable time to respond to your concerns.
Whilst we recognise that some concerns can provoke an emotional response, we will not accept threatening or harassing behaviour towards our staff, and will take steps supported by appropriate legal action.
