The Housing Ombudsman requires landlords to carry out regular self-assessments against its Complaint Handling Code, and take appropriate action to make sure we are in line with the Code. The aim of this self-assessment is to assess whether we are compliant and identify where we can improve.
Complaints received by service area: July 2021 to September 2021
We received 284 stage one complaints during the period July 2021 to September 2021.
The table below shows the percentage of complaints we received by service area. For this period the majority of complaints we received from our customers were repairs related.
| Complaints by service area | Percentage of total complaints received: July to September 2021 |
| Repairs | 62% |
| Housing Operations | 21% |
| Estate Services | 6% |
| Income, Homeownership, Service Charges | 6% |
What we are learning from our complaints
| Complaint | Lesson learnt | Improvement Implemented |
| Repairs Heating & hot water | Delays in responding heating and hot water repair email requests reported in Hub 3 area | Internal designated inbox for heating and boiler repairs We understand that having no heating or hot water can be a very stressful situation for our customers. We have identified an area in which our internal process was not working correctly and requests were not being actioned quick enough. A dedicated inbox for these types of repairs will ensure that our team have full visibility of these priority repairs. |
| ASB Communication with customers | We need to communicate better with our customers before sending an ASB allegation letter | Internal process change all customers will receive a phone call from the ASB team prior to being sent a letter We recognise that receiving a letter concerning ASB allegations can be stressful and upsetting. We have changed our internal process so that customers will receive a call from a member of the ASB Team prior to receiving a letter. This will give our customers the opportunity to discuss the issue and understand the situation better and it will give us the opportunity to listen and provide advice. |
| Repairs Managing reports of damp and mould | We need to improve our approach to Reports of damp and Mould | Internal process change for repairs and complaints All reports of damp and mould will be now be inspected at first point by a surveyor. The surveyor will contact the customer and arrange a visit to their home every time there is a report of damp and mould and will investigate and establish the root cause and liaise with contractors on course of action. All customer complaint responses concerning damp and mould are subjected to a ‘sign off’ process by Head of Service or Manager. This is to ensure that we have fully investigated the complaint, established the root cause, identified the correct remedy and compensated the customer fairly (if applicable). |
| Repairs Damage from leaks | We need a consistent approach to providing customers with dehumidifiers | Change of internal process All contractors have been instructed to leave a dehumidifier for severe leaks at the customer’s home to help aid the escape of water and reduce any potential damage to our customer’s homes |
| Fire Safety Communication | We should have clear communication with all our customers (shared owners/leaseholders) about the possible impact of government advice and guidance. | Programme of external wall reviews approved – to enable us to advise customers when their review will be undertaken and the subsequent EWS1 form issued. |
| Fire safety Communication | We should have clear communication with all our customers (shared owners/leaseholders) about the possible impact of government advice and guidance. | Programme of external wall reviews approved – to enable us to advise customers when their review will be undertaken and the subsequent EWS1 form issued. |
| Fire safety Communication | We didn’t inform our customer of the government guidance/advice when they made their staircasing application. | Our staircasing and resale packs now explain lenders’ requirements for EWS forms and advise that these may result in severe delays if they wish to re-mortgage, staircase or sell their home. We offer support to check the requirements for their building via the fire safety team and to discuss their individual circumstances. |
| Fire Safety Communication | We didn’t inform our customer of the government guidance/advice when they made their staircasing application. | All buildings which have an EWS rating that may not satisfy lenders will have a notification on our IT systems – to ensure that we can remind customers of the issues they may face securing lending when we receive staircasing or resale applications. |
