What we’ve learned from complaints – June update

Every month, we look closely at the complaints and service requests we receive from customers. This helps us spot problems and make things better. 

Here’s what we found in June:

How many complaints did we get in June?

• We had 15 Stage 1 complaints
• We had 1 Stage 2 complaint (this is when someone isn’t happy with how their Stage 1 complaint was handled)
• We also had 42 service requests (these are things we can sort out quickly without needing a formal complaint)

The number of complaints is similar to this time last year. Our data shows that fewer complaints usually happen in summer.

What were the complaints about?

The most common problems were:

• Missed appointments
• Repairs taking too long
• Poor communication

Some of this seems to happen when jobs are booked by voicemail or letter without speaking to the customer directly. We’ve asked our contractors to make sure they have spoken to customers and confirmed appointments before turning up.

How quickly did we respond?

• On average, we replied to complaints in 3 working days in June
• So far this year, the average is 8 working days, which meets the required timescales from the Housing Ombudsman (10 working days)

Were people happy with how we handled their complaint?

Yes – everyone who filled out our survey in June said they were satisfied with how we handled their complaint. That’s 100% satisfaction for the month and for the year so far.

Compensation

• We paid out £655 in compensation in June
• That brings the total so far this year to £8,648

You Said: Your Voice told us that we need to make sure we're paying compensation when we need to.

We Did: We have paid more compensation in this financial year than we had by this time last financial year. However, we had a similar number of complaints. This shows we are paying out compensation more consistently.

Did we reject any complaints?
No – we accepted all complaints in June and for the year so far.

What are we learning?
We're using this feedback to:

• Spot common problems
• Take action faster
• Work better with our contractors
• Keep improving the service for you

We’re also looking at better ways to track and share what’s changing because of your feedback.

Complaints help us improve and make things better, not only for you but for all of our customers. If something’s gone wrong, please let us know.

You can find out more about our complaints process or make a complaint by clicking here.

You can also read our complaints policy by clicking here.