Turning complaints into action: Our journey to improvement
Welcome to our quarterly complaints update. In this article, we share an update on our latest complaints results, what we’ve learned and how we’ve worked with customers to listen, hear and improve.
How we performed
Between October and December 2025, we received 585 complaints, up from 484 in the previous quarter. Although disappointing, this is common during colder months where weather drives higher demand for our repairs service, which represented 56.5% of complaints this quarter, rising to 62.5% when damp and mould are included.
You can find a breakdown of how we performed below.
| JUL – SEP 2025 | OCT – DEC 2025 | Difference | |
| Number of complaints received | 484 | 585 | ↑ 20.8% |
| Number of Housing Ombudsman complaints | 29 | 22 | ↓ 24.1% |
| Complaints closed within 10 days | 468 | 539 | ↑ 15.1% |
| Average time taken to resolve complaints (working days) | 9.6 | 9.5 | ↓ 1% |
| Number of complaints upheld | 76% | 81% | ↑ 6.5% |
| Number of customer compliments received | 201 | 176 | ↓ 12% |
| Complaints per 1,000 properties | 63 | 77 | ↑ 22% |
| Complaints not accepted | 5 | 4 | ↓ 20% |
| Number of complaints escalating to Stage 2 | 76 | 116 | ↑ 52% |
We recognise that complaints per 1,000 properties and the number of complaints escalating to stage two have increased. While these increases reflect higher demand for services and are a common picture across the sector, they also highlight how recent changes designed to make our complaints process more accessible are enabling customers to raise concerns and escalate them when they feel issues have not been fully resolved.
We know there is still more to do and by learning from complaints and working with our involved customers, we have clear plans in place to improve.
What customers told us
Although more customers complained during this quarter, the insight you’ve given us has confirmed that we must take a more joined up approach, particularly where complaints cover more than one issue.
Customers told us that they wanted clearer communication around what happens next, particularly when it comes to repairs appointments and how issues around the home will be permanently fixed. You also told us that you wanted to understand how your circumstances will be considered by us.
We acknowledge that there is work to be done to tackle these issues. By bringing all of your feedback together with our performance data, we are able to understand the root causes of complaints and make improvements by working together with you.
How we’ve worked with customers to improve
Using insight from our complaints, over this quarter, our involved customers have influenced several key changes, such as:
- Clearer and easier to understand complaint responses
When our involved customers reviewed real complaint letters, they told us they were sometimes too formal and didn’t explain clearly what would happen next or how customers’ vulnerabilities had been considered.
In response, we’ve worked with our customers to co-create a new approach to complaint responses which has allowed us to see these through a customer lens. Our responses now use straightforward language and a clearer structure to explain what we can and can’t do, what will happen next, and how long things should take. They also set out, in simple terms, what actions we’ve taken because of a customer’s vulnerability and why.
- Stronger investigations and clearer explanations
Customers told us our decisions sometimes needed to be explained more clearly. To improve this, we’ve introduced extra checks on more complex complaint responses, meaning a second colleague now reads and reviews the response before it is sent. This helps make sure our explanations are clear, fair, easy to understand and use a customer friendly tone. We’ve also improved how we record key information during an investigation, so we can give customers a more complete and transparent response the first time.
- Tackling the root causes of repairs complaints
You told us that delays, missed appointments and repeat visits are some of the most frustrating parts of the repairs experience. So, we’ve focused on making repairs more reliable and straightforward.
We’re now doing more to get repairs right the first time, including improving how we identify issues before we attend. We’ve also given our Customer Service Centre extra training so they can safely talk customers through simple fixes which may not require a visit, where these are appropriate.
We’ve also moved to a more flexible fix‑on‑fail approach for boilers. Instead of repeatedly repairing an old or unreliable boiler, we’ll replace it sooner when it’s more cost‑effective and better for the customer to do so. This helps break the cycle of breakdown → repair → breakdown and provides a more long‑term solution.
And to reduce the number of appointments needed, we’ve introduced a new approach to compliance checks. This means that where possible, gas safety checks and a range of other compliance checks can be done in one visit. This approach gives customers more flexibility and cuts down the number of times we need to come back, helping make your experience smoother and less disruptive.
All these changes are designed to reduce delays, minimise repeat visits, and make repairs simpler, clearer and more reliable for our customers.
How these changes are making a difference
By bringing together performance data, learning from complaints, and working with our involved customers, we’ve been able to make changes both in how we handle complaints and how we reduce the issues that lead to them. Even though complaint numbers rose this quarter, these improvements are already beginning to make a positive difference.
More complaints were closed on time between October and December 2025. 539 complaints were resolved within 10 working days, up from 468, even with higher volumes over this period. This shows our clearer processes and stronger checks are helping.
Customer satisfaction with complaint handling has also improved by 13% this year, as shown in our post-complaint survey. This suggests that clearer responses, better explanations and more consistent communication are making the experience feel more supportive and straightforward.
And while improvements to repairs won’t fix issues overnight, customers are already telling us that clearer communication, support with soft fixes, better diagnostics, and the fix-on-fail approach are helping reduce repeat visits and giving greater confidence that repairs will be resolved more effectively.
Get involved
The changes we’ve made this quarter are practical, meaningful and shaped directly by you. If you’d like to become an involved customer and share your views on how we can improve, please get in touch with our Customer Involvement Team by:
- filling in the form on our website
- visiting the My Onward Portal
- emailing customerengagement@onward.co.uk
- calling 0300 555 0600 or messaging 07418 344 603 on WhatsApp between 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday and 10am – 6pm on Wednesdays
You can also click on the button below to learn more about other opportunities to get involved.
We’ll be sharing an overview of our complaints results, what we’ve learned and how we’ve worked with customers to listen, hear and improve every quarter, so keep an eye on our website for the latest updates.