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Most folk who read this blog know I work with SocialHousing ICT systems, projects and procurement. I have never been to Sheffield Hallam or Stirling Uni to do one of their rightly recognised excellent degrees and Masters in housing, although met many professions who have and asked me if that’s where much of my knowledge came from.
That is flattering, although the 25+ years I have had the pleasure to work in the sector, has been my ‘apprenticeship’ in absorbing the ‘knowledge’ and terminology that underpins its systems and processes. I am constantly surprised when Council or Social Housing residents reach out to me on Twitter, in the pub or at the barbers (no joke, I helped one of the managers, who had struggled with her unsatisfactory RSL repairs for over 3 years).
With that knowledge I am always happy to try to help and I thought it was time I put a blog together about the tenants/leaseholder view of the complaints or reporting process. For balance, also because I procure it and implement it week-in, week-out, I will put together a blogpost from the opposite side of the fence too, next month. The second one will explore what’s available for RSLs to manage and better expedite complaints, and achieve better outcomes. So, please stay tuned for that!
So, lets start with some examples, some of which might be spookily familiar to readers in the sector. I wont be naming & shaming, ITV seem to have already cornered that market with repair failures. These are a big originator of complaints. Big cities are the targets for firms of ambulance chasers, left with looking for new low hanging fruit, after the ending of PPI claims, now moving into Repair Disrepair claims. Many of these are pursued right near the end of the 3 or 6 year claim period, as there is greater chance of success then. Some outfits provide a convenient 24 hour chatbot/webchat to help get a claim/complaint started. These are on the rise, although most issues I help with, come straight from residents. I bet many RSL’s reading these still don’t have a chatbot. Do you?
The nice lady at the barbers was with a large local provider and there had been six attempts to rectify a leaking rear secure patio door and had damages to three carpets due to repairs not being properly completed.
In another example, a Council resident had submitted numerous formal complaints that had been mislaid, ignored and substantial personal data had been lost too.
In a third case, leaseholders are seeing charges made, unrelated or explained to repairs said to have been completed and apportioned, without appropriate consultation.
In a fourth case, resident has attempted on 5 occasions to report a repairs issue, no evidence of logging had taken place and on the 6th call, resident was labelled as ‘Vexatious’ and told not to contact the provider or housing officer again.
Repairs issues are behind a significant number of complaints and there is often confusion what is an acceptable repair, how recharges and priorities work, to set expectations. While the days of ‘Tenant Handbooks’ has gone, not all landlords in my experience, have this info easily accessible on websites or self-service.
The first question I generally ask, is if the resident has an audit trail/timeline of their interactions and if they received a CRM call or Request/contact interaction ID in reply. Many residents do not have that timeline and its really key for the complainant to have the facts clearly documented. If complaining/logging anything, residents always ask for that ID number & note the staff member who you spoke to. If completing a request via self-service (if its available), not the repair/request number shown on the webpage reply and any appointment made/requested.
It’s a sad fact that often residents have a much better set of facts, than their Social Housing landlord. That can seriously work in the complainants benefit.
My second piece of advice is when a problem arises, write a clear and concise letter, stating dates/times, ID’s, staff names if known, the nature of the issue, with calm language. Key is to give the landlord 14 days to respond, solve it in 14 days and what would be a reasonable fix from the resident viewpoint. Emails can be used, although a registered posted or personally handed in letter is preferred. Where the landlords staff such as housing officers, or asset surveyors etc are involved, consider inviting them in for a chat about your issues, over a brew & a biscuit. Building bridges for the price of a cup of tea & a macaroon can only do you good.
Keep lines of dialog active, respect each other, be kind but firm, but note all details of course!
Any continued churn/turnover of staff adds further frustration. This should not be any excuse for the complaint being coherently progressed. This is the landlords problem, it shouldn’t become that of the residents.
Thirdly, understand and use the declared landlord escalation path, documenting all interaction with it. Better councils and RSLs, will provide this process on the website, or it can generally be formally requested. Typically, this will move a complaint each stage up to a supervisor, manager, director etc. This must be exhausted before ombudsman may get involved. If the resident has a more complete timeline, there is a greater chance of success with the ombudsman. If this is Council Housing or ALMO stock, often getting a local ward councillor involved can help too.
A complaint going through a number of stages, is harrowing, frustrating and time consuming for residents. For the RSL or Council, this is an expensive business. Many repair issues for example, perhaps involve £100 - £350 of spend to get right, by the time multiple staff are involved in a complaint about it might cost several thousand pounds, of landlord effort to resolve.
Reducing/eliminating complaints is good for everyone, particularly residents.
Check back soon, for the second part of this subject
I will bring plenty of Chocolate Digestives ☕😋
Related Post: How well do your CRM & other systems prevent/reduce waste in your organisation?
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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.
Beck – No Complaints.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009
Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here
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