Accommodation Essex Complaints Procedure

Accommodation Essex aims to provide students with accommodation which is clean, well maintained and allocated as detailed in the University’s Allocation Policy. We aim to provide you with an excellent service at all times, so we need you to tell us if we have made a mistake. This procedure explains how you can do this, and how we will deal with your complaint.

If your complaint is about another student, we may need to refer you to Student Support.  Further information can be found by visiting, the Student Support website.

If your complaint is about private sector housing, you will need to contact the Students’ Union by visiting the Student's Union website.

If you have any concerns or complaints about the service you have received from us, you should raise them with a member of staff in the Main Accommodation Office or in the Area Office at North Campus, South Campus, University Quays or University Square (Southend) at your earliest opportunity. We will always try to resolve your complaint quickly and informally.

If your complaint is about a member of staff, you can ask to speak to their Manager directly. If you make a complaint about a member of staff you must be prepared to make a formal statement and to attend any disciplinary hearing that might result.

If you are not happy with the initial response you receive, you can ask the relevant Manager to formally look into your complaint.  There are a number of ways you can make a complaint; in person, by email, by letter, or via our website.

If you make a complaint in person, we will ask you to complete the details of your complaint on a complaints form.

We will then investigate your complaint and send you an email response within 10 working days.  Sometimes we will need another department to provide us with information to investigate your complaint fully (e.g. Estates Maintenance).  If this is the case, we will let you know if your complaint will take longer than 10 working days to respond to.

For complaints regarding the cleaning service, caretaking service or repairs and maintenance service, please contact the Manager for your area office as follows;

North Campus Office: Pauline Gawler

Email: ncampman

South Campus Office: Karen Bailey and Kelly Barham

Email scampman

University Quays Office: Kim Norrell

Email: uquayman

University Square Office, Southend: Louise Buxton

Email: usman

For complaints regarding the allocation of rooms or contractual matters, please contact the Systems Manager in the Main Accommodation Office as follows;

Systems Manager: Sarah Crowther

Email: slcrow

For complaints regarding reception or accommodation advice, please contact the Customer Services Manager in the Main Accommodation Office as follows;

Customer Services Manager: Beverley Shaw

Email: bshaw

If you believe your complaint was dealt with incorrectly, you can ask for the complaint outcome to be reviewed.

We hope that your complaint will have been resolved by using our complaints process, but if you are still not satisfied, the University has a separate complaints procedure for serious complaints or for complaints that remain unresolved. To make a complaint using the University of Essex Complaints Procedure, please follow this link Further information regarding the university complaints procedure.

The Students’ Union offers an independent advice service and you may consult with the SU Advice Centre if you wish to discuss any problem or complaint which you feel is not being resolved.

Staff in the Advice Centre may contact Accommodation Essex on your behalf or represent or support you in any meeting with accommodation staff.

This page is maintained by the Accommodation Office and was last updated on 04 September 2012.
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