Customer complaints
Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) update
The new Housing Ombudsman code went live on 1 April 2024 and the HOS now has a statutory role which means landlords like Great Places are required by law to comply with the new code. We will submit our self-assessment to the HOS by the end of June and this will be available for customers to view on our website.
The HOS code is clear on timescales for complaint handling; this includes five working days to acknowledge a complaint and 10 working days to deal with a stage 1 complaint. Customers will be provided with a detailed review of the case and findings, and should a customer remain unhappy then they can request the complaint be escalated to the second stage of the process. This means the complaint will be reviewed by a senior manager independent of the first investigation and a response provided within 20 working days.
What’s new?
As part of the new code, the HOS now requires landlords to provide an annual complaint and service improvement report that includes comments from Board members. We regularly provide information to customers on how we have used both customer complaints and feedback to improve our services within publications such as our monthly E-news and website.
To view our annual complaint and service improvement report
We have a new Customer Complaint Group who we will be working with over the coming months, and we also have a Board member, Patrick Ricketts, who is the new Member Responsible for Complaints. Patrick is also the Chair of our new Customer Committee. This is a requirement of the code. Patrick is also the Chair of our new Customer Committee and will be working with customers and championing learning from complaints in both the Board and Committee spaces.
How many complaints have the customer feedback team dealt with between April 2023 and March 2024?
The team dealt with 1,852 customer complaints and the main areas of complaint include:
The Customer Feedback Team independently investigates all customer complaints. This includes speaking with customers to understand the exact nature of the complaint. We will always seek to agree a resolution for the customer and fix what has gone wrong.
Following an investigation, we will confirm if the complaint is upheld which means we have not met our agreed level of service. Last year we found that in 51% of cases we failed to meet our customers’ expectations.
Gas complaints
We recognise the increase in customer complaints about our gas contractor, SURE. There are a number of things customers are telling us from missed appointments, changing appointments and the time it takes to complete work.
To improve this we are meeting with SURE colleagues on a regular basis and reviewing complaints in detail. SURE colleagues are working within our Customer Hub to support with first point of reporting, making sure we are getting the right details.
We are undertaking a review of complaints, to identify themes, trends and are meeting with senior leaders from SURE and Great Places to ensure we learn lessons and to put things in place to improve customer experience this winter.
How are we improving repairs
Our repairs operatives now order any additional repairs required to complete a repair with the customer. We then confirm those appointments with the customer to offer assurance and details of when those additional repairs will be undertaken.
This change has resulted in a 68% reduction in chase-up calls by customers to our Customer Hub. Delay to repair is one of our biggest areas for customer complaints but as a result of these changes, complaints regarding delay to repair ended the year at 60% of the volume seen during the first quarter of 2023 to the end of 2024.
Over the next 12 months we will share more examples of how we are using complaints to learn and improve our customers’ experience.
If you are unhappy and want to make a complaint, there are a number of ways to contact us.
The Customer Feedback Team can be contacted at customerfeedback@greatplaces.org.uk.
For more information about how to make a complaint please visit our website.
Customers can also seek advice and refer complaints to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Online: Fill in the online complaint form on the HOS website
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Phone: 0300 111 3000
Write to: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET
