DIO Accommodation and Pinnacle are focused on providing the best service we can to Service personnel and families. However, sometimes things go wrong, below is guidance about the correct process if you wish to make a complaint. We also welcome your positive feedback where something has gone right.
Whatever the problem, we will endeavour to sort it out as quickly as possible. We value your feedback and monitor complaints to help us focus on improving our service in those areas.
Complaints are handled in three stages, with the aim of making sure that the majority can be fully investigated and promptly put right. If you are dissatisfied by the response at any stage, you will be given the opportunity to go to the next stage.
Stage one
If you are dissatisfied with our service, please call Pinnacle’s National Service Centre on 0800 031 8628 or visit the Pinnacle website.
Once you have registered a complaint, a Pinnacle representative will contact you, and give you a reference number for your complaint. They will explain how the process works and keep you regularly updated on the progress of your complaint.
Stage two
If your complaint has been formally closed at stage one and you are not satisfied with the response, you can then escalate your complaint to the DIO Customer Services Team. You can do this in two ways:
1. Interactive form: by completing the stage two complaint form, which for security reasons is only available on the Defence Intranet.
2. Email: by emailing the DIO Customer Service Team setting out your stage two complaint.
If you are making a complaint via email, please ensure you include:
- The stage one complaint reference number
- Your name and telephone number
- The SFA address relating to your complaint
- Why you are not happy with the result of your stage one complaint
- What desired outcome or remedy you are seeking
Emails not containing all of this information will not be accepted by the Customer Service Team. Please send your email to: diordaccn-stage2noreply@mod.gov.uk
If you make a stage two complaint, we will have access to your stage one complaints details and records, so you do not need to re-submit the full details of your complaint.
We will acknowledge it within three working days and provide you with a reference number. An investigation will then be carried out, however there is no standard response time due to the need to further investigate complaints that vary in nature and complexity.
Stage three
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive at stage one and stage two, you can escalate your complaint to the Accommodation Complaints Review Panel by writing to People-Accom-ACRP-Stage3@mod.gov.uk or
Accommodation Complaints Review Panel, People Accommodation, Ministry of Defence, Floor 6, Zone N, Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB
Further independent advice
You can also seek independent advice through your:
- Local service welfare organisations
- Unit Welfare Officer
- RAF Community Support Officer or Unit Families Officer
- Families Federations representatives
- HIVE
Alternatively, there are civilian organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau, service charities or housing advice centres who can help.
Complaint submission timings
To effectively deal with complaints, it is necessary for them to be considered as closely as possible to the date of the matter arising. Therefore, complaints are to be submitted within the timings detailed below.
- Stage one – Submission within 28 working days of the incident
- Stage two – Submission within 28 working days from receipt of the Stage 1 response
- Stage three – Submission within 28 working days from receipt of the Stage 2 response
*If the complaint is related to a culmination of events/matters, then it should be submitted within 28 days of the last event.
Complaints submitted outside these timings will only be considered if there are clear extenuating circumstances, such as deployments, training etc. Accepting complaints outside of these timings will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Full information about SFA complaints can be found in JSP 464: tri-service accommodation regulations (TSARs) Volume 1, Part 1, Chapter 6