What we've learned from complaints in July

What we learned from complaints in July

Listening to complaints helps us understand where our services are falling short and what we need to improve.

In July, we received 24 stage one complaints, compared with 16 in July last year. We also received three stage two complaints. Meanwhile, the number of service requests fell from 64 last July to 43 this year.

What customers told us

Delays and repeat repairs were the most common causes of dissatisfaction during the month.

Customers told us about long waits, overdue work and follow-on actions that did not happen quickly enough. Some repairs remained unresolved, happened again or required several visits before they were completed.

The most frequently identified themes were:

• delays or slow resolution
• repeat repairs and unresolved issues
• poor communication or a lack of updates
• process and administrative failures
• concerns about the quality of work
• missed appointments.

Communication remained an important issue. Customers did not always receive clear, consistent information or regular updates about their repair or complaint.

The feedback also showed that stronger ownership is needed. Customers should not have to contact us repeatedly or explain the same issue to different people.

What the figures show

So far this financial year, we have received 82 stage one complaints, compared with 69 at the same point last year. We have also received 11 stage two complaints, compared with five last year.

The most common year-to-date reasons for service requests were the time taken to complete work, the quality of work and missed appointments. Process issues were the most frequent reason for stage one complaints.

Our average response time for stage one complaints was two days during July and four days across the year to date.

Compensation

We paid £2,077.26 in compensation during July:

• £250 for service requests
• £1,592.26 for stage one complaints
• £235 for stage two complaints.

The largest compensation payment category was damage caused during work, at £831. This was followed by damp and mould at £500 and process failures at £375. Compensation was also paid for delays in completing work, quality concerns, missed appointments and staff attitude or behaviour.

The total paid so far this financial year is £5,946.95. This is made up of £970 for service requests, £4,495.95 for stage one complaints and £481 for stage two complaints.

We continue to issue monthly invoices to contractors where they are responsible for compensation payments.

What we are doing

The feedback shows that we need to improve how repairs and complaints are managed from beginning to end.

We are focusing on:

• taking clear ownership of each customer’s issue
• completing follow-on work without unnecessary delays
• reducing repeat visits and unresolved repairs
• providing customers with regular, meaningful updates
• improving appointment management
• working with our contractors to address recurring service and workmanship concerns.

We will continue to monitor the themes emerging from complaints and use what customers tell us to improve our services.