Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code – Self-assessment 2021

YES

Definition:

An expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.

YES

These exclusions are in line with the criteria set within the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

The complaints policy will not be used:

• to settle a dispute that is subject to legal action or an insurance claim. We will use other internal procedures to avoid duplication and ensure appropriate timescales are followed.
• investigate and resolve complaints relating to safeguarding issues or serious allegations about a colleague or contractor. We will use other internal procedures to avoid duplication and ensure appropriate timescales are followed.
• any complaint issue that occurred over six months will not be considered. Although, where the problem is a reoccurring issue, we will consider older reports as part of the background to the complaint, if this will help resolve the issue.

If we do not accept a complaint, a detailed explanation will be provided setting out the reason why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process.

YES

Complaints may be made by phone, online form using our website or social media, in person or by letter or completing a complaints form.

YES

We publish our complaints policy on our website. A complaints leaflet detailing our procedure is also available on our website. We will also send a paper version to a customer, upon request. 

YES

We have included a separate section on reasonable adjustments within our complaints policy. Examples of how we will apply this to our complaints handling include:

• Complaints may be made with the assistance of a representative acting on the customer's behalf (such as a family member, friend, MP or local councillor).
• On request, we will also provide customers with support to make a complaint. Examples include, helping customers complete forms, write letters on their behalf or accept the complaint verbally with a written statement produced confirming details of their complaint issue.
• We will also give customers the opportunity to be represented and/or accompanied at any meeting with Longhurst Group upon request and where this is reasonable.
• We will ask customers their preferred method of communication.

YES

We publish information on our complaints handling service in our customer magazine, annual report and on our website.

YES

We have a dedicated Complaints and Improvement team who comprise of a Manager, Team leader and Complaint Resolution Officers who work closely with customers, our colleagues across Longhurst Group, stakeholders and with our partner contractors.

YES

Our Complaint Resolution Officers will act independently and fulfil an advocacy role on behalf of the customer with the aim of resolving complaints promptly and to a satisfactory conclusion, where possible.  The Complaint Resolution Officers will act independently throughout the investigation and management of the complaint case.

YES

We actively encourage collaboration with colleagues and our contractors to resolve disputes.  The Complaint Resolution Officer will consider all information and evidence carefully and then work in partnership with other departments to provide the best possible resolution to a complaint. 

NO

We do not have a third stage within our complaints procedure.

YES

We have engaged with an established independent customer panel (designated person) where customers can request the panel to investigate their complaint if they are still unhappy after stage 2.  We have customer representation on this independent complaint panel.

YES

A standard paragraph giving details of the Housing Ombudsman Service is included in all our resolution letters.

As outlined in our complaints policy, all correspondence and communication details are recorded on our CRM system. Each complaint will be managed using our case management functionality where all colleagues have access to the complaint history, case notes and correspondence.

Stage 1.

YES

The Complaints Resolution Officer will keep the customer informed from the initial contact (acknowledgement stage), throughout the complaint investigation to resolution.  Our complaints policy gives further details on how we will communicate and engage with our customers to ensure they are kept informed and up to date during the complaint process.

YES

The Complaint Resolution Officer contacts the customer before the resolution letter is issued (two attempts are made).  This gives the customer the opportunity to respond and challenge before the resolution letter with the final decision is sent.  Also, personal contact is made when the complaint is acknowledged to seek clarification, manage expectations and to gather the facts and all the required information from a customers’ perspective. Communication is also made throughout the complaint case.

Customers are advised that they can escalate their complaint to stage 2 if they are unhappy with the resolution to their complaint at stage 1.

YES

From 1 January to 30 September 2021, we acknowledged 99 percent of all formal complaints within five days.

YES

This is included in our resolution letters at stage 1 and stage 2.

We also communicate how customers can escalate their informal complaint to a formal complaint if they’re dissatisfied with the resolution.

92.5 percent of complaints were resolved at stage 1 (between 1 January 2021 to 30 September 2021).

Stage 1: (within 10 working days or with agreed extensions)

We have worked with our partner contractors to improve our processes, for example ensuring complaints about repairs are properly diagnosed and repair appointment are booked in. 

Stage 2
121, of which 95 were resolved with timescale (79%)

Stage two (with extension)
18, of which 12 were resolved within timescale (67%)

The average resolution timescale for stage 2 was 23 working days (including those complaints with agreed extensions).

The main reason for extending a timescale is to ensure we have an appointment booked in for any repair work that needs to be completed as part of the complaint resolution.  In some cases, we will also provide an extension, so the repair work is completed before closing the complaint resolution (where appropriate) to ensure customer satisfaction.

We would always engage with the customer before extending the resolution timescale.

We would always engage with the customer before extending the resolution timescale for stage one and stage two complaints.

Our performance is at 75 percent customer satisfaction for complaint outcome and 71 percent satisfaction for complaint handling (1 January 2021 to 30 September 2021).  This is against a set target of 75 percent satisfaction for both complaint outcome and handling. 

YES

N/A

YES

This is included in our complaints policy within the reasonable adjustment section. We also aim to keep the representative up to date throughout the management of the complaint case.

YES

We refused 25 complaint cases (following a request to appeal at stage 2) between 1 January to 30 September 2021. We record and monitor the number of refusals.

The reason for the 25 refusals were based on:

• Stage 2 request contained additional information that was not presented at stage 1
• A full response had already been provided at stage 1 and no further investigation was required
• The outcome would remain the same

A customer can only use stage 2 if one or more of the following criteria has been evidenced.

• The response received is factually inaccurate.
• The response received does not address the initial complaint; or
• There is evidence that our complaints process was not followed.

YES 

We will always explain our decision and inform the customer of the next steps.

YES

We always aim to offer the best possible experience following a complaint. We will offer the customer remedies to resolve the complaint, including proactively resolving the issue and where appropriate offering goodwill gestures and compensation payments. 

We formally review trends and lessons learnt every three months to identify trends for service improvement, learning and development.  This is carried out internally with our colleagues at an operational and senior level and with our partner contractors. Our Customer Forum also provide a customer assurance role by monitoring and scrutinising our complaints handling performance.

• We hold monthly formal meetings with internal management teams to review key feedback trends and issues highlighted by customers so learning can be addressed and actioned. We’ve recruited a new Customer Experience Officer who will lead and develop this framework further.

• We hold weekly meetings with our partner contractors to discuss key issues, barriers, and existing complaint cases regarding our responsive repair service.

• An improvement plan has been set in partnership with our heating contractor to ensure communication is at the forefront of service delivery. This included the introduction of a revised appointment system for servicing and a new track the operative app.

• A new process where an agreed appointment with the customer and contractor will be included within the resolution letter and this will then be monitored by our Complaint and Improvement team.

• Following feedback from customers, which included a lack of understanding on the estate services we deliver we published the specification for the cleaning and grounds maintenance service. An accessible online portal for customers to review schedules at their individual scheme is now in place and our clean and green inspectors has been launched. Audits are taking place more regularly by our Contract Estate Officers, which has all led to higher satisfaction scores for quarter 2.

• We implemented a new process, which focused on customer care for leaseholder gas servicing. Following customer feedback, we introduced a detailed gas servicing postal survey to leaseholders to capture their valuable feedback. This has resulted in improved customer satisfaction levels with leaseholder customers.

• Following customer feedback, we’ve reviewed our re-let standard with customers, which has fed into the repair and void procurement process in preparation for our new repair service.

• Following customer feedback, we’ve updated the aids and adaptation section of our website to provide clear information that is easy to use for our customers.

• We’re currently reviewing the resources allocated to the management of defect repairs and reviewing how the process will work between different departments; with the aim of giving a better customer experience and reduced service failures.

Residents?

In our customer magazine we have a ‘You said, we did’ feature. This is also published on our website.

Reports have been presented to our Customer Forum including performance, trends, learning and evidence of what we have done differently and future improvement plans.

The board/governing body?

A detailed report is presented to the Group Board every six months including performance, trends, learning and evidence of what we have done differently and future improvement plans.

In the Annual Report?

We have a ‘You said, we did’ section within our customer annual report.

This exceeds the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, which indicates a review, at least once a year.

YES

We’ve revised and changed our complaints procedure and policy to reflect the Housing Ombudsman Code.

• We’ve introduced a new Complaint and Improvement Team (from September 2021) with dedicated officers and management structure. We have also employed extra short-term resources to monitor our agreed resolution actions and improve response timescales.

• Our stage 1 response timescale has been reduced to 10 working days and we’ve adopted the 20-working day timescale for stage 2 complaints.

• We’ve developed a robust complaints management case functionality within our new Dynamics CRM system (internal housing management).

• Additional catch-up support calls have been set with the relevant Heads of Service/Directors to ensure timescales improve for our stage 2 complaints. This has led to improved performance.

• A new suite of performance indicators has been produced and incorporated into our performance management framework for complaints handling.

• A stronger focus on reporting our learning and giving evidence to illustrate this. Our new performance monitoring framework includes reports to our Group Board and Customer Forum on performance, complaint trends, lessons learnt and service improvement changes.

• We have included a requirement for all partner contractors to attend our in-house complaints management training within the new repairs and voids procurement process. This also includes a mandatory training session for Managers across Longhurst Group (where appropriate).

• We have implemented monthly internal meetings with key colleagues to scrutinise the customer satisfaction with our complaints handling service. From this feedback we’ve introduced an extra measure at the acknowledgement stage so an appointment with the customer is scheduled in where an update will be provided, and contact made by the Complaint Resolution Officer.