It’s only knowing when customers feel something might have gone wrong
that we can try to put things right. Our complaints service helps us understand
where our service hasn’t met our Customer Promises or your expectations.

We aim to put things right as quickly as possible and work with you to
find a solution. It’s important to us we’re accountable and transparent so that we can learn from our mistakes to improve the services we provide.

We received:

• 619 formal complaints
• 770 fast-track complaints*
• 24 escalated to the Housing Ombudsman, however there were no cases of maladministration, where the ombudsman makes a formal decision that a landlord has failed to do something.

We met the target response timescale for 91% of complaints.

* A fast-track complaint can be dealt with quickly and efficiently as part of ‘day
to day’ business and is dealt with outside the formal complaints process. This
approach is taken if it will offer the best experience customer.

By team:

Maintenance

• 838 complaints overall (371 formal, 467 fast-track)

Key themes: reports of condensation and mould, priorities in water leaks leading to damage and compensation claims, and communication and timeliness in completing follow-on work where required.

Housing

• 471 complaints overall (208 formal, 263 fast-track)

Key themes: Anti-social behaviour, noise, parking, the condition and cleanliness of
properties/neighbourhoods.

Development

• 70 complaints overall (33 formal, 37 fast-track)

Key themes: finalisation of defects in a new build and the sales process.

We follow the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and are reviewing our complaints service through a self-assessment to make sure it follows the new code. Our self-assessment will be published and available for you to view on our complaints page on our website.

During 2021/22 the Housing Ombudsman identified key issues in the housing sector, highlighting that damp, condensation and mould continue to be a significant issue for many people living in social housing. They have published a report called ‘Spotlight on: Damp and mould – It’s not lifestyle’. This report produced 26 recommendations for landlords to consider. We’ve conducted a full review against these 26 recommendations and throughout 2022/23 a dedicated workstream will progress these recommendations and report to our Board.

Over the year our customer-led Designated Complaints Panel (DCP) carried out five reviews across a variety of issues from service charges to estate management.

Designated Complaints Panel

Complaint about tree maintenance and charges

The DCP reviewed a complaint where several trees, on a border with a private property, were removed and a service charge applied  to customers to pay for the work. A few
customers complained there would have been no need to remove the trees if they
had been maintained properly by our Ground Maintenance team.

Although the trees had been maintained correctly, the DCP recommended that when trees are surveyed and found to be near fences or boundaries, the surveyor should try to
gain entry to check the garden surrounding the trees by asking for permission from the neighbouring home, to allow the completion of a full survey. These steps are now followed as part of the routine works.    

Complaint about the letting standard

A customer got in touch with us to complain about the standard of their new home.  A lot of the décor was severely nicotine-stained from the previous occupier.  Our new customer had several health issues and was fearful that the condition of the property would negatively affect their health and they had spent money on extra cleaning.  The complaint investigation concluded there had been inconsistent application of the void standard and the customer was compensated.

We learned a lot from this complaint, and refresher training was carried out on the void standard to help re-enforce the requirements and to encourage a consistent approach. This issue was also included in a review of the Lettable Standard, the standard that we make sure all homes meet before customers move in, to provide a clear example on what we should do when there’s heavy nicotine staining.

We’ve created a dedicated Complaints Learning group. The group will consist of colleagues from across the business, along with customers from the DCP. The group will make sure the lessons we learn from complaints are used to improve our service. The group will also review complaints to see where we can learn from our customer experiences.